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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. craft — boats
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. craft — a skill
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — after costs
  7. press — a publisher
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. press — newspapers
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a city
  12. press — to push
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. season — of the year
  15. hand — in cards
  16. season — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. shower — to wash
  19. chair — a leader
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — help
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. capital — a big letter

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