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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. press — to push
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. court — for sport
  5. dip — to sink
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. court — of a king
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. degree — from a university
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. shower — to wash
  14. degree — temperature
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. shower — rain
  17. press — newspapers
  18. degree — an amount
  19. court — of law
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — the animal
  22. press — a publisher
  23. rash — a series
  24. dip — to dunk

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