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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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468
Word bank
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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wind — moving air
  4. swing — in golf
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. swing — to play on
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. swing — music
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. press — newspapers
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wound — an injury
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. press — to push
  16. chair — a leader
  17. press — a publisher
  18. wound — an injury
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stem — to come from
  22. hand — help
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — to tease

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