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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. press — a publisher
  3. mine — for digging
  4. press — to push
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. rock — music
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. rock — a stone
  12. shower — rain
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — to tire
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. press — newspapers
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. rock — to move gently

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