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

Word bank: lash · press · chest · cold · deal · wave

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. chest — a box
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. cold — an illness
  9. press — to push
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. press — newspapers
  16. chest — of your body
  17. deal — to handle
  18. press — a publisher

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