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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 124 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. chest — of your body
  3. press — newspapers
  4. cold — not warm
  5. staff — employees
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. chest — of your body
  8. staff — employees
  9. stem — to come from
  10. press — a publisher
  11. shower — rain
  12. press — to push
  13. rule — government
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. staff — a stick
  16. chest — a box
  17. chip — to eat
  18. chip — for betting
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. cold — an illness
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. rule — a law

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