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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.

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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. shower — rain
  3. mate — a friend
  4. cell — in biology
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — to wash
  7. press — to push
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. race — the arms race
  11. press — a publisher
  12. present — a gift
  13. race — humankind
  14. mate — a partner
  15. press — newspapers
  16. present — the time now
  17. mate — to breed
  18. race — a contest

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