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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. rush — hurry
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — to play on
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. fall — to drop
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. press — a publisher
  10. press — to push
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. date — the fruit
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. press — newspapers
  19. fall — the season
  20. lie — to recline
  21. fall — to drop
  22. shower — rain
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. swing — in golf

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