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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. degree — from a university
  6. press — newspapers
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. press — a publisher
  15. shower — to wash
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. degree — an amount
  18. shower — rain
  19. press — to push
  20. club — a group
  21. degree — temperature
  22. plane — a tool
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. racket — for tennis

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