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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: press · snap · swing · cabinet · racket · chest · dip · tear

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. swing — to play on
  3. dip — to sink
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. swing — music
  6. press — a publisher
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. snap — to click
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. press — to push
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. tear — from crying
  18. press — newspapers
  19. tear — from crying
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. tear — to rip
  22. swing — in golf
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. snap — to speak sharply

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com