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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: present · press · content · leaves · wave · wind

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. press — a publisher
  5. present — a gift
  6. content — the amount
  7. press — to push
  8. present — there
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. press — newspapers
  11. present — the time now
  12. wind — moving air
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wave — a sudden rise

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