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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. key — the most important part
  3. rock — music
  4. land — ground
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. press — to push
  7. key — in music
  8. key — for a lock
  9. press — a publisher
  10. current — happening now
  11. land — a country
  12. press — newspapers
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. current — electric
  17. land — to come down
  18. current — of water
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — a line
  21. rock — a stone
  22. row — to paddle
  23. lie — to recline
  24. rock — to move gently

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