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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. tube — a container
  3. march — the month
  4. press — a publisher
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. cold — not warm
  8. shower — rain
  9. ground — a position
  10. press — to push
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. tube — the underground
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ground — crushed
  21. press — newspapers
  22. shower — to wash
  23. cold — an illness
  24. march — music

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