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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. object — a thing
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. object — an aim
  6. row — a line
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — newspapers
  9. band — a ring
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — magic
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. hand — in cards
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — in sport
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. object — to protest
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. band — a music group
  24. press — to push

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