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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 · swing · pop · deal · wound · cap · nail · chest

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. chest — a box
  3. swing — to play on
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cap — a hat
  6. press — a publisher
  7. pop — music
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. chest — of your body
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. swing — in golf
  13. press — to push
  14. deal — to handle
  15. pop — to visit
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pop — soda
  18. press — newspapers
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. cap — a lid
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cap — of ice
  24. swing — music

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