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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 120 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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rest — a break
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — there
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. rest — what's left
  10. shower — rain
  11. rest — what's left
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. present — a gift
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. press — a publisher
  17. press — newspapers
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. kid — to tease
  20. cell — a phone
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. press — to push
  24. cell — in biology

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