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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cabinet · bound · cold · press · bat · ball · shower · rock

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. press — a publisher
  4. rock — a stone
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. bound — obliged
  7. ball — a great time
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. bat — the animal
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. press — newspapers
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. rock — music
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cold — an illness
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bound — certain
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. press — to push
  24. ball — a dance

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