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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 120 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. press — to push
  5. press — a publisher
  6. squash — the sport
  7. march — the month
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. march — the month
  10. swing — to play on
  11. plane — a tool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. swing — music
  14. spring — the season
  15. row — a line
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. spring — of water
  19. march — music
  20. squash — to crush
  21. press — newspapers
  22. spring — a coil
  23. wind — moving air
  24. swing — in golf

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