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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. bark — to shout
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. ball — a great time
  7. dip — to sink
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. cell — in biology
  10. press — newspapers
  11. cell — a phone
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. ball — a dance
  14. press — to push
  15. march — the month
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. march — music
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. press — a publisher
  22. shower — rain
  23. march — the month
  24. cell — in a prison

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