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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. shower — rain
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. race — a contest
  9. rest — what's left
  10. hand — help
  11. scale — size or range
  12. hand — in cards
  13. press — a publisher
  14. press — newspapers
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — humankind
  17. scale — in music
  18. rest — what's left
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. rest — a break
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. bowl — a football final

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