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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: saw · cold · staff · shower · press · chest · lie · pass

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  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. pass — to succeed
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. staff — employees
  4. saw — the tool
  5. staff — a stick
  6. shower — to wash
  7. lie — to recline
  8. cold — not warm
  9. saw — the tool
  10. shower — rain
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cold — an illness
  13. press — to push
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. staff — employees
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. pass — a permit
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. press — newspapers
  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