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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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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: rush · hide · press · foot · kid · wind · game · wound

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. game — wild animals
  4. wound — an injury
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. foot — a measure
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. kid — child
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. press — newspapers
  18. rush — hurry
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. game — a match
  21. kid — to tease
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. wind — moving air
  24. press — a publisher

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