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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. press — a publisher
  6. press — to push
  7. mine — for digging
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rest — what's left
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. squash — to crush
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. rest — what's left
  14. squash — the sport
  15. roll — a cake
  16. roll — a list
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. press — newspapers
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. rest — a break
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. row — to paddle
  24. cabinet — ministers

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