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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. press — a publisher
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. shower — to wash
  6. wake — a trail
  7. press — to push
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. rule — government
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. prune — to trim
  12. march — music
  13. season — of the year
  14. press — newspapers
  15. shower — rain
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. season — in sport
  21. march — the month
  22. rule — a law
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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