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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. ball — a dance
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. press — newspapers
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — child
  11. game — a match
  12. ball — a great time
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. press — to push
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. shower — rain
  19. dip — to sink
  20. chair — a leader
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. shower — to wash
  23. game — wild animals
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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