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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. scale — size or range
  3. scale — in music
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. last — final
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bat — the animal
  9. swing — in golf
  10. last — finally
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. swing — music
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. press — a publisher
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — rain
  19. press — to push
  20. bear — the animal
  21. press — newspapers
  22. swing — to play on
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. scale — for weighing

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