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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.

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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. board — to get on
  3. chest — of your body
  4. press — newspapers
  5. band — a ring
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. chest — a box
  10. board — a committee
  11. swing — to play on
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a music group
  15. snap — to click
  16. swing — music
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. chest — of your body
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. press — to push
  22. swing — in golf
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. hide — to keep secret

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