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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rock — a stone
  7. rock — music
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. march — the month
  10. shower — rain
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — to wash
  16. press — newspapers
  17. press — to push
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. land — a country
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — ground

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