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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. field — farmland
  5. dip — to sink
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. cap — of ice
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. cap — a lid
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. shower — to wash
  12. rule — government
  13. shower — rain
  14. rule — a law
  15. press — to push
  16. cap — a hat
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. press — a publisher
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — help
  23. press — newspapers
  24. rush — hurry

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