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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 116 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. spring — of water
  4. press — to push
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. mark — a trace
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. spring — the season
  9. mark — a grade
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. press — a publisher
  14. scale — size or range
  15. spring — a coil
  16. scale — in music
  17. press — newspapers
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chip — to eat
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. shower — rain
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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