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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. court — for sport
  3. current — of water
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pass — a permit
  6. court — of a king
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. press — newspapers
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. current — electric
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. tube — a container
  15. press — to push
  16. tube — the underground
  17. court — of law
  18. press — a publisher
  19. current — happening now
  20. perch — the fish
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. shower — rain
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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