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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. shower — rain
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. race — humankind
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. race — the arms race
  10. rock — music
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. band — a ring
  13. wind — moving air
  14. press — a publisher
  15. rock — a stone
  16. race — a contest
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bat — the animal
  19. press — newspapers
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. wind — moving air
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. band — a music group

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