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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. march — music
  4. game — wild animals
  5. march — the month
  6. date — the fruit
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. shower — rain
  9. court — of a king
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. press — to push
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. court — for sport
  15. shower — to wash
  16. court — of law
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — a publisher
  22. game — a match
  23. march — the month
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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