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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. row — a line
  3. press — to push
  4. rock — music
  5. wound — an injury
  6. band — a music group
  7. wound — an injury
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. mug — a cup
  10. row — to paddle
  11. mug — to rob
  12. ground — the earth
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. ground — crushed
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. ground — a position
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. press — a publisher
  20. band — a ring
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bark — to shout
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. mug — a face

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