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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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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: chair · rush · staff · press · cue · key · shower · hide

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. press — newspapers
  3. rush — hurry
  4. cue — a signal
  5. key — the most important part
  6. cue — for pool
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. press — to push
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. key — for a lock
  11. staff — a stick
  12. shower — to wash
  13. key — in music
  14. shower — rain
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — employees
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. chair — a leader
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. press — a publisher
  22. cue — a hint
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. rush — a thrill

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