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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 116 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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. current — happening now
  4. press — to push
  5. present — the time now
  6. last — to go on
  7. present — there
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. cold — not warm
  10. march — the month
  11. current — of water
  12. prune — to trim
  13. present — a gift
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. current — electric
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. prune — to trim
  20. last — finally
  21. last — final
  22. press — newspapers
  23. shower — to wash
  24. press — a publisher

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