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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 shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. present — a gift
  4. scale — size or range
  5. present — there
  6. shower — rain
  7. press — a publisher
  8. fine — all right
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. kick — in football
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. present — the time now
  17. press — to push
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. press — newspapers
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. scale — in music
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — to wash

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