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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. chest — a box
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. shower — rain
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. date — the fruit
  9. root — of a plant
  10. chair — a leader
  11. rule — government
  12. press — a publisher
  13. root — the cause
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. root — of a word
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. rule — a law
  18. press — to push
  19. snap — to click
  20. chest — of your body
  21. press — newspapers
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. chest — of your body

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