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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. tear — to rip
  4. bear — the animal
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. degree — from a university
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. degree — an amount
  10. tear — from crying
  11. squash — to crush
  12. shower — to wash
  13. squash — the sport
  14. shower — rain
  15. degree — temperature
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. tear — from crying
  18. press — newspapers
  19. bear — the animal
  20. press — a publisher
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. ball — a great time
  23. ball — a dance
  24. 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