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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. club — for golf
  3. hand — help
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — low music
  9. press — newspapers
  10. shower — to wash
  11. press — a publisher
  12. club — for dancing
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. press — to push
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. hand — in cards
  18. mine — for digging
  19. club — a group
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. shower — rain
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bass — the instrument

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