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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. kid — to tease
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. press — a publisher
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — rain
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rash — a series
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. press — to push
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — a subject
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. field — for sport
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. press — newspapers
  22. foot — a measure
  23. lie — to recline
  24. kid — child

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