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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 drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. last — final
  5. last — finally
  6. press — newspapers
  7. last — to go on
  8. press — to push
  9. clip — a video
  10. face — to confront
  11. cue — a signal
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. press — a publisher
  15. cue — a hint
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cue — for pool
  19. mine — for digging
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — a line
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — part of the head
  24. clip — for paper

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