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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: press · wake · swing · row · kid · lie · last · arm

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. swing — to play on
  3. press — to push
  4. last — final
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — to paddle
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. lie — to recline
  11. wake — a trail
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. kid — child
  16. last — to go on
  17. kid — to tease
  18. last — finally
  19. press — a publisher
  20. swing — music
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. press — newspapers
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. swing — in golf

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