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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: degree · press · rest · chest · bass · mine · can · saw

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. chest — of your body
  5. can — to be able to
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. bass — low music
  8. chest — a box
  9. rest — what's left
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bass — the fish
  13. can — a tin
  14. press — newspapers
  15. degree — from a university
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. can — a tin
  18. degree — an amount
  19. press — a publisher
  20. degree — temperature
  21. saw — the tool
  22. mine — for digging
  23. rest — a break
  24. press — to push

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