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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. charge — in control
  5. press — to push
  6. kick — in football
  7. charge — a price
  8. cold — an illness
  9. shower — rain
  10. press — a publisher
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. charge — electricity
  13. cold — not warm
  14. tube — the underground
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. tube — a container
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. shower — to wash
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. press — newspapers
  23. ruler — for measuring
  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