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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. degree — an amount
  5. press — a publisher
  6. press — newspapers
  7. shower — to wash
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. saw — the tool
  10. degree — from a university
  11. saw — the tool
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. shower — rain
  14. hand — help
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. degree — temperature
  19. press — to push
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. bowl — a football final

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