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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. press — a publisher
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. mine — for digging
  5. press — newspapers
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. shower — to wash
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. ball — a dance
  13. press — to push
  14. hand — in cards
  15. last — finally
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. last — to go on
  18. ball — a great time
  19. shower — rain
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — the animal
  23. last — final
  24. hand — help

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