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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. wind — moving air
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. shower — to wash
  6. game — a match
  7. squash — to crush
  8. press — to push
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. bat — the animal
  11. press — newspapers
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. stand — to bear
  17. press — a publisher
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. game — wild animals
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. shower — rain
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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