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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. capital — money
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. bass — the fish
  6. press — a publisher
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bass — low music
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — to tease
  14. press — to push
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bark — to shout
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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