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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: rash · press · cold · cabinet · wind · hand · lean · mug

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. cold — not warm
  3. rash — hasty
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. press — a publisher
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. press — to push
  11. lean — thin
  12. mug — a face
  13. hand — help
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mug — a cup
  16. lean — to bend
  17. press — newspapers
  18. mug — to rob
  19. wind — moving air
  20. hand — in cards
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cold — an illness
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — on the skin

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