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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: board · patient · shower · chest · present · bat · sharp · press

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bat — the animal
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. press — newspapers
  5. board — to get on
  6. chest — a box
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. shower — rain
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. present — the time now
  11. chest — of your body
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. chest — of your body
  16. present — there
  17. board — a committee
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. sharp — clever
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — to push
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — to wash

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