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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 116 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. squash — the sport
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bat — the animal
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — to push
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. rule — government
  14. shower — rain
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. press — a publisher
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. rule — a law

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