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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 116 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 had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. key — for a lock
  6. press — to push
  7. ground — the earth
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. spring — a coil
  11. kid — to tease
  12. key — the most important part
  13. ground — crushed
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. press — a publisher
  16. kid — child
  17. row — a line
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. key — in music
  20. spring — of water
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. ground — a position
  23. press — newspapers
  24. spring — the season

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