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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 116 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. saw — the tool
  3. press — to push
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. saw — the tool
  6. row — a line
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. press — a publisher
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. press — newspapers
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bat — the animal
  16. present — the time now
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. present — a gift
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. wake — a trail
  24. present — there

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