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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. land — to come down
  4. press — newspapers
  5. press — to push
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bass — the fish
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bass — low music
  10. land — ground
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. cold — not warm
  13. press — a publisher
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. perch — the fish
  18. land — a country
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. shower — to wash
  22. dip — to sink
  23. shower — rain
  24. mouse — the animal

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