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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. shower — rain
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. chair — a leader
  5. wind — moving air
  6. press — a publisher
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. cold — an illness
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. drill — the tool
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. cold — not warm
  15. press — newspapers
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. wind — moving air
  18. foot — a measure
  19. shower — to wash
  20. drill — army training
  21. press — to push
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. toast — bread

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