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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. field — a subject
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bat — the animal
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. bear — the animal
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. content — the amount
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. bear — the animal
  14. press — a publisher
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. shower — to wash
  17. content — happy
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. press — newspapers
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. pass — a permit
  22. press — to push
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — farmland

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