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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bear — the animal
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — in sport
  5. shower — rain
  6. march — the month
  7. press — a publisher
  8. net — after costs
  9. press — to push
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — employees
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. bound — tied together
  16. march — the month
  17. bound — certain
  18. bear — the animal
  19. march — music
  20. ball — a dance
  21. ball — a great time
  22. staff — a stick
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bound — obliged

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