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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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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: lean · press · rest · fall · cold · club · deal · mark

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. fall — to drop
  3. club — for golf
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rest — what's left
  7. press — to push
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. cold — not warm
  10. club — a group
  11. club — for dancing
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — a trace
  15. rest — a break
  16. deal — to handle
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. rest — what's left
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. press — newspapers
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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