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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. shower — rain
  3. press — to push
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. kid — child
  6. sharp — clever
  7. court — of a king
  8. squash — the sport
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. squash — to crush
  13. kid — to tease
  14. pit — a hole
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. court — for sport
  17. pit — in a race
  18. press — newspapers
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. court — of law
  23. shower — to wash
  24. squash — the vegetable

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