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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. file — a line of people
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — in football
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. press — newspapers
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. file — a document
  13. present — there
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. file — a tool
  17. present — the time now
  18. shower — rain
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. press — to push
  21. present — a gift
  22. bat — the animal
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. kick — with a leg

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