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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. press — to push
  3. cell — a phone
  4. mug — a face
  5. ground — the earth
  6. shower — to wash
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. ground — crushed
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — the fruit
  13. press — a publisher
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. press — newspapers
  16. cell — in biology
  17. mug — a cup
  18. ground — a position

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