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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 120 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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. perch — the fish
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — soda
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. press — to push
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. press — newspapers
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. shower — to wash
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. sharp — clever
  22. shower — rain
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pop — music

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