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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — of ice
  6. press — to push
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. rash — a series
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. cap — a hat
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. rash — hasty
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. tear — to rip
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. press — a publisher
  21. shower — rain
  22. press — newspapers
  23. rock — a stone
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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