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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: fall · pitch · scale · press · chest · chair · nail · mouse

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pitch — completely
  3. press — a publisher
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. chest — a box
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. chair — a leader
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. press — newspapers
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — size or range
  16. fall — to drop
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. scale — in music
  19. press — to push
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. fall — the season

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