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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. craft — boats
  3. lie — to recline
  4. mug — a face
  5. fine — all right
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. press — a publisher
  9. hand — help
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mug — a cup
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. mug — to rob
  14. press — to push
  15. row — to paddle
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. craft — a skill
  18. cold — not warm
  19. fine — high quality
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. row — a line
  24. press — newspapers

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