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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: stick · wound · chair · shower · press · deal · kick · content

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. content — happy
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. shower — to wash
  8. wound — an injury
  9. deal — to handle
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. press — newspapers
  13. wound — an injury
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — the amount
  16. shower — rain
  17. press — a publisher
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. chair — a leader
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. press — to push
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. kick — in football

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