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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — in cards
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. net — for catching
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. press — a publisher
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. net — after costs
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. content — the amount
  12. net — in sport
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. press — to push
  15. press — newspapers
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — of the year
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. content — happy
  21. hand — help
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. shower — rain
  24. content — videos and posts

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