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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. current — electric
  3. court — for sport
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. current — of water
  8. shower — to wash
  9. spring — the season
  10. chair — a leader
  11. court — of law
  12. spring — a coil
  13. court — of a king
  14. spring — of water
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. current — happening now
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. press — to push
  21. chest — a box
  22. press — a publisher
  23. shower — rain
  24. press — newspapers

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