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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. kick — in football
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. spell — a short time
  5. ball — a dance
  6. press — newspapers
  7. ball — a great time
  8. bank — for money
  9. press — a publisher
  10. bank — for money
  11. wind — moving air
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wound — an injury
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — letters
  18. bank — of a river
  19. shower — rain
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. wound — an injury
  24. press — to push

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