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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. row — a line
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. tube — the underground
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. press — a publisher
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. row — to paddle
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. field — farmland
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. press — to push
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. perch — the fish
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. press — newspapers

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