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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. club — for dancing
  4. shower — to wash
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. bear — the animal
  7. press — to push
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. chest — of your body
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. bear — the animal
  12. shower — rain
  13. plane — a tool
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. press — newspapers
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. club — a group
  23. club — for golf
  24. chest — a box

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