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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: pitcher · mate · shower · chip · prune · press · bay · arm

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  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. bay — a horse colour
  2. mate — a partner
  3. shower — rain
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mate — to breed
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. shower — to wash
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. press — a publisher
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. press — newspapers
  15. mate — a friend
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. press — to push
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. chip — to eat
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. chip — for betting
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. chip — in a computer
  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