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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. press — a publisher
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. spring — of water
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — to push
  11. shower — to wash
  12. spring — the season
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. pop — to visit
  18. pop — soda
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. pop — music
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lean — to bend
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — rain

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