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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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. press — a publisher
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — what's left
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. press — newspapers
  9. deal — to handle
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wind — moving air
  13. press — to push
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. shower — rain
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rest — a break
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. chest — a box
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wind — moving air

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