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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. press — a publisher
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. squash — the sport
  5. shower — rain
  6. hand — help
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. hand — in cards
  9. press — newspapers
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — to crush
  13. land — ground
  14. press — to push
  15. land — a country
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. chair — a leader
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. hand — part of the body

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