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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. mate — to breed
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. mate — a friend
  5. row — a line
  6. press — a publisher
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — temperature
  9. file — a tool
  10. mate — a partner
  11. press — to push
  12. press — newspapers
  13. degree — an amount
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. toast — bread

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