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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. shower — rain
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. press — to push
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. press — a publisher
  7. rush — hurry
  8. shower — to wash
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. tear — from crying
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — a city
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bass — low music
  17. press — newspapers
  18. bass — the fish
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. tear — to rip
  21. capital — money
  22. rest — what's left
  23. tear — from crying
  24. rest — a break

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