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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. kid — child
  3. present — a gift
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. press — a publisher
  8. present — the time now
  9. cell — a phone
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. present — there
  14. press — newspapers
  15. shower — rain
  16. cell — in biology
  17. kid — to tease
  18. press — to push

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