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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 116 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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. hand — in cards
  3. row — to paddle
  4. pop — soda
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. press — a publisher
  7. pop — to visit
  8. wake — a trail
  9. pop — music
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. press — newspapers
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. tube — the underground
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — a container
  16. hand — help
  17. press — to push
  18. row — a line

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