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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: calf · net · file · press · wave · spell · cell · cold

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. cell — in biology
  8. spell — a short time
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. file — a document
  11. net — after costs
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. net — for catching
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. spell — letters
  17. net — in sport
  18. press — to push
  19. file — a tool
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. spell — magic
  23. file — a line of people
  24. press — newspapers

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