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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. snap — to click
  3. fork — in a road
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. net — in sport
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. land — a country
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. tear — to rip
  10. press — a publisher
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — for catching
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. press — to push
  17. season — in sport
  18. row — a line
  19. land — to come down
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. season — of the year
  22. press — newspapers
  23. land — ground
  24. fork — to eat with

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