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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 116 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pass — a permit
  4. press — a publisher
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pit — a hole
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. cold — not warm
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. pit — in a race
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. press — to push
  20. press — newspapers
  21. shower — rain
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. dip — to sink
  24. mouse — the animal

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