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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. charge — a price
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. press — newspapers
  6. charge — electricity
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. charge — in control
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. chest — of your body
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. press — a publisher
  14. chest — of your body
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. capital — a city
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. band — a music group
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. capital — money
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. chest — a box
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  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