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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 120 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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. press — a publisher
  3. prune — to trim
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. wake — a trail
  6. press — newspapers
  7. shower — to wash
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. spell — letters
  10. kid — to tease
  11. rule — a law
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. spell — magic
  14. chair — a leader
  15. press — to push
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. prune — to trim
  19. shower — rain
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. spell — a short time
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. rule — government

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