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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 116 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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. press — a publisher
  3. shower — rain
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. mug — to rob
  6. last — final
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. press — to push
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. press — newspapers
  13. bass — low music
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. scale — size or range
  18. last — to go on
  19. mug — a face
  20. shower — to wash
  21. scale — in music
  22. mug — a cup
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. last — finally

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