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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 120 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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Word bank
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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 · chest · chair · firm · prune · rush · cell · row

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cell — a phone
  3. prune — to trim
  4. row — to paddle
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. press — to push
  12. press — newspapers
  13. press — a publisher
  14. firm — a company
  15. firm — decided
  16. chair — a leader
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. rush — hurry
  21. row — a line
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. chest — of your body
  24. firm — steady

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