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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. press — newspapers
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. game — wild animals
  10. present — a gift
  11. press — a publisher
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. clip — to cut
  15. present — the time now
  16. rest — what's left
  17. game — a match
  18. clip — a video
  19. rest — a break
  20. present — there
  21. rest — what's left
  22. clip — for paper
  23. fan — a supporter
  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