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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. shower — to wash
  4. press — to push
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. chest — a box
  7. bore — to tire
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. chest — of your body
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bore — to drill
  13. prune — to trim
  14. shower — rain
  15. press — newspapers
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. press — a publisher
  19. game — wild animals
  20. prune — to trim
  21. game — a match
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — for digging
  24. chest — of your body

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