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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. charge — a price
  6. press — a publisher
  7. degree — an amount
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. degree — from a university
  11. press — to push
  12. charge — in control
  13. degree — temperature
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. charge — electricity
  16. press — newspapers
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. perch — the fish
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. shower — rain
  23. cell — in biology
  24. shower — to wash

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