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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: kid · shower · patient · press · wave · coach · rock · chest

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. kid — child
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. shower — rain
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. rock — music
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rock — a stone
  9. press — a publisher
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. kid — to tease
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. press — newspapers
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. chest — a box
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. press — to push
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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