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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: row · sharp · patient · press · stick · bat · shower · wind

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. sharp — clever
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. row — to paddle
  8. press — to push
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. bat — the animal
  12. row — a line
  13. press — a publisher
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. shower — rain
  16. press — newspapers
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. shower — to wash
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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