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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  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. bat — for baseball
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — high quality
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. lean — to bend
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. shower — to wash
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. press — newspapers
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. lean — thin
  13. snap — to click
  14. bat — the animal
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. shower — rain
  18. wake — a trail
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — to push
  23. lean — to rest against
  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