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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. court — for sport
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. shower — rain
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. court — of law
  7. roll — a list
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. sharp — clever
  11. bore — to tire
  12. ground — a position
  13. bore — to drill
  14. press — a publisher
  15. roll — a cake
  16. ground — the earth
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — to push
  21. shower — to wash
  22. ground — crushed
  23. cold — an illness
  24. court — of a king

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