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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 116 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. shower — to wash
  4. mug — a cup
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. degree — from a university
  7. pop — soda
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bat — the animal
  11. mug — to rob
  12. pop — to visit
  13. press — newspapers
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. pop — music
  19. saw — the tool
  20. press — to push
  21. degree — temperature
  22. shower — rain
  23. wake — a trail
  24. press — a publisher

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