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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: shower · patient · lean · press · hide · ground · last · swing

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. last — finally
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. ground — the earth
  6. last — to go on
  7. shower — rain
  8. ground — crushed
  9. shower — to wash
  10. press — a publisher
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. lean — thin
  13. swing — in golf
  14. last — final
  15. swing — to play on
  16. ground — a position
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. press — to push
  22. press — newspapers
  23. swing — music
  24. lean — to bend

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