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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. press — a publisher
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — help
  6. plane — a tool
  7. bat — the animal
  8. file — a document
  9. game — wild animals
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — army training
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. press — newspapers
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. file — a line of people
  20. game — a match
  21. drill — a practice
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. file — a tool
  24. press — to push

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