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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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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: wake · pop · press · content · vault · arm · row · chest

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. row — a line
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wake — a trail
  5. row — to paddle
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. chest — a box
  8. press — newspapers
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. pop — soda
  11. press — to push
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. content — the amount
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. content — happy
  18. vault — a safe
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — 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