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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: hand · chest · date · press · wave · cold · drill · bay

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. date — the fruit
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — army training
  10. hand — help
  11. cold — not warm
  12. press — a publisher
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. drill — a practice
  15. cold — an illness
  16. press — to push
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. press — newspapers
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. chest — of your body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. chest — a box
  24. wave — with your hand

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