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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: press · chest · pitcher · mate · wave · wind · key · lie

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  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. mate — a partner
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. lie — to recline
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. chest — of your body
  10. key — for a lock
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. mate — to breed
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. mate — a friend
  15. chest — a box
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. press — newspapers
  18. key — the most important part
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. key — in music
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chest — of your body
  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