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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — the time now
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. lean — to bend
  7. shower — to wash
  8. press — a publisher
  9. wind — moving air
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. rule — government
  12. key — in music
  13. fine — all right
  14. fine — high quality
  15. shower — rain
  16. lean — thin
  17. key — the most important part
  18. key — for a lock
  19. press — to push
  20. present — there
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. press — newspapers
  23. wind — moving air
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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