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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 116 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. press — a publisher
  3. row — a line
  4. game — a match
  5. net — in sport
  6. spell — magic
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. spell — letters
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. spell — a short time
  11. press — to push
  12. net — after costs
  13. row — to paddle
  14. press — newspapers
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. game — wild animals
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. hand — help
  24. game — a kind of play

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