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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. cold — not warm
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. press — to push
  5. cold — an illness
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — rain
  8. chip — to eat
  9. press — a publisher
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. chip — for betting
  13. track — a path
  14. press — newspapers
  15. fine — high quality
  16. track — a song
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. shower — to wash

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