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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. chest — of your body
  4. press — a publisher
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rest — what's left
  7. staff — employees
  8. chest — of your body
  9. press — to push
  10. spell — magic
  11. cold — an illness
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — letters
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rash — a series
  18. staff — employees
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. staff — a stick
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. press — newspapers
  23. deal — to handle
  24. chest — a box

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