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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. wind — moving air
  3. press — a publisher
  4. root — of a plant
  5. press — newspapers
  6. chest — of your body
  7. club — for golf
  8. rock — music
  9. rock — a stone
  10. club — a group
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. root — the cause
  17. shower — rain
  18. club — for dancing
  19. date — the fruit
  20. press — to push
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. root — of a word
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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