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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. shower — rain
  3. shower — to wash
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. tear — to rip
  7. press — a publisher
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. press — to push
  10. can — to be able to
  11. tear — from crying
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. tear — from crying
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. press — newspapers
  18. can — a tin
  19. sharp — clever
  20. game — wild animals
  21. can — a tin
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. march — music
  24. game — a match

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