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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. fall — the season
  4. press — to push
  5. press — a publisher
  6. row — to paddle
  7. present — the time now
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. present — a gift
  12. hand — in cards
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. chest — a box
  15. cold — an illness
  16. hand — help
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fall — to drop
  19. press — newspapers
  20. fall — to drop
  21. present — there
  22. chest — of your body
  23. row — a line
  24. cold — not warm

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