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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. press — to push
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. shower — to wash
  5. press — a publisher
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. prune — to trim
  8. drill — army training
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. key — for a lock
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. key — in music
  17. key — the most important part
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. wound — an injury
  21. prune — to trim
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. press — newspapers
  24. shower — rain

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