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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 button?
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. vault — a safe
  4. face — to point toward
  5. saw — the tool
  6. face — part of the head
  7. press — a publisher
  8. bat — the animal
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. game — wild animals
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. shower — rain
  14. game — a match
  15. face — to confront
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. shower — to wash
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. press — newspapers
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. saw — the tool
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bat — for baseball

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