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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. row — a line
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mine — for digging
  6. vault — a safe
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. shower — rain
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. press — to push
  13. row — to paddle
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ball — a great time
  16. shower — to wash
  17. press — a publisher
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. ball — a dance
  21. press — newspapers
  22. fine — all right
  23. fine — high quality
  24. fine — a penalty

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