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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. press — a publisher
  3. date — the fruit
  4. press — to push
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. press — newspapers
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. chair — a leader
  9. cell — a phone
  10. shower — rain
  11. cell — in biology
  12. current — of water
  13. club — for dancing
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. club — for golf
  16. current — electric
  17. current — happening now
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. club — a group
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. date — on the calendar

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