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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. press — a publisher
  3. shower — to wash
  4. rule — government
  5. drill — the tool
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. drill — a practice
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. scale — in music
  10. shower — rain
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. press — to push
  13. race — a contest
  14. drill — army training
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — the arms race
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. scale — size or range
  24. press — newspapers

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