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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: wind · lean · hand · press · kid · spell · cabinet · present

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. spell — letters
  5. lean — thin
  6. press — newspapers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. hand — help
  11. press — to push
  12. kid — child
  13. lean — to bend
  14. spell — a short time
  15. wind — moving air
  16. kid — to tease
  17. present — the time now
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. present — there
  21. spell — magic
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. present — a gift

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