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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: shower · lean · drill · ball · press · prune · racket · arm

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. lean — thin
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. shower — to wash
  6. press — to push
  7. press — a publisher
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. ball — a dance
  12. lean — to bend
  13. drill — a practice
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. prune — to trim
  16. ball — a great time
  17. shower — rain
  18. press — newspapers
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. drill — army training
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. drill — the tool

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