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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. spell — letters
  3. press — a publisher
  4. game — a match
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. spell — magic
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. press — to push
  9. land — to come down
  10. press — newspapers
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. land — ground
  16. dip — to sink
  17. land — a country
  18. pitch — completely
  19. perch — the fish
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. spell — a short time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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