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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 120 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: press · present · stick · march · cabinet · cell · rest · wound

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rest — a break
  3. press — a publisher
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. present — there
  7. march — the month
  8. press — newspapers
  9. present — a gift
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. rest — what's left
  12. march — music
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. wound — an injury
  16. present — the time now
  17. march — the month
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cell — in biology
  22. rest — what's left
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. press — to push

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