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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. root — of a word
  4. shower — to wash
  5. ground — crushed
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. press — a publisher
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. press — newspapers
  12. press — to push
  13. date — the fruit
  14. root — the cause
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — the earth
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. scale — in music
  19. root — of a plant
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. scale — size or range
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. shower — rain

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