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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. shower — to wash
  3. net — in sport
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. fine — all right
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. press — newspapers
  8. net — for catching
  9. kid — child
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. fine — high quality
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. press — to push
  15. game — a match
  16. net — after costs
  17. shower — rain
  18. game — wild animals
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. press — a publisher
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — the arms race

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