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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  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. last — final
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. lean — thin
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. last — to go on
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. mine — for digging
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. press — newspapers
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. last — finally
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. press — a publisher
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. lean — to bend
  19. hand — help
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. shower — to wash
  22. rush — hurry
  23. press — to push
  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