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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. chair — a leader
  4. press — to push
  5. land — a country
  6. shower — to wash
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. press — newspapers
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. shower — rain
  13. bound — obliged
  14. land — ground
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. bound — tied together
  17. press — a publisher
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. march — music
  20. bound — certain
  21. march — the month
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. land — to come down
  24. lash — to lash out

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