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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  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. wake — before a funeral
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. craft — boats
  5. craft — a skill
  6. press — a publisher
  7. ground — the earth
  8. press — newspapers
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. spell — letters
  11. ground — crushed
  12. clip — a video
  13. ground — a position
  14. spell — magic
  15. press — to push
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wake — a trail
  19. clip — for paper
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. spell — a short time

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