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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. snap — to click
  3. press — a publisher
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. hand — in cards
  12. press — newspapers
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. press — to push
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. wind — moving air
  21. hand — help
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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