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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. rest — what's left
  4. mate — to breed
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. mine — for digging
  7. shower — rain
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. press — a publisher
  10. rest — a break
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. rest — what's left
  13. press — newspapers
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. press — to push
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. mate — a friend

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