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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. bear — the animal
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. press — a publisher
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. shower — rain
  9. row — a line
  10. shower — to wash
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. cold — not warm
  13. foot — a measure
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bear — the animal
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. press — to push
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. snap — to click
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. press — newspapers
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. lie — to recline

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