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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. squash — the sport
  3. pound — a weight
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. face — to confront
  8. press — newspapers
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. press — to push
  11. shower — to wash
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rest — a break
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. tube — a container
  18. rest — what's left
  19. shower — rain
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — to crush
  22. rest — what's left
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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