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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 sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. spring — the season
  4. press — to push
  5. season — in sport
  6. press — newspapers
  7. press — a publisher
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. row — a line
  12. rush — hurry
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. row — to paddle
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. spring — a coil
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. clip — a video
  23. season — of the year
  24. spring — of water

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