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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. last — to go on
  3. press — a publisher
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. band — a music group
  11. last — finally
  12. shower — to wash
  13. press — to push
  14. press — newspapers
  15. mark — a trace
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. last — final
  19. scale — size or range
  20. mark — a grade
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. band — a ring
  23. shower — rain
  24. scale — in music

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