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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. field — farmland
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. press — to push
  6. cue — for pool
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. race — the arms race
  11. cue — a hint
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. press — newspapers
  14. race — humankind
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. cue — a signal
  18. field — for sport
  19. race — a contest
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. press — a publisher
  24. field — a subject

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