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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wave · chest · can · ball · root · cold · lie · press

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. cold — not warm
  4. lie — to recline
  5. can — a tin
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. root — the cause
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. ball — a dance
  12. cold — an illness
  13. root — of a word
  14. can — to be able to
  15. root — of a plant
  16. press — to push
  17. chest — a box
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — a publisher
  20. can — a tin
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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