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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. row — to paddle
  4. tube — a container
  5. pop — music
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. spell — magic
  8. bat — the animal
  9. wake — a trail
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — the underground
  12. pop — soda
  13. row — a line
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. pop — to visit
  16. press — to push
  17. press — a publisher
  18. spell — a short time
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bat — for baseball

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