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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. track — a path
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. kid — child
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. track — to keep track
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. press — to push
  10. bat — the animal
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. track — a song
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. spring — the season
  15. prune — to trim
  16. kid — to tease
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. prune — to trim
  20. press — newspapers
  21. spring — a coil
  22. rush — hurry
  23. press — a publisher
  24. spring — of water

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