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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. press — a publisher
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. rule — government
  6. season — in sport
  7. press — to push
  8. cold — an illness
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. season — of the year
  12. press — newspapers
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. shower — rain
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. rule — a law
  20. shower — to wash
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. bear — the animal

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