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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. chest — of your body
  3. press — a publisher
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. wind — moving air
  6. staff — a stick
  7. chest — of your body
  8. snap — to click
  9. staff — employees
  10. press — newspapers
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. chest — a box
  15. press — to push
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. wind — moving air
  18. staff — employees

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