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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. game — wild animals
  5. perch — the fish
  6. ground — the earth
  7. game — a match
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — crushed
  10. present — a gift
  11. rock — a stone
  12. vault — a safe
  13. press — to push
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. press — a publisher
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. press — newspapers
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — there

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