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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. club — for dancing
  6. row — to paddle
  7. deal — to handle
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. club — for golf
  10. rock — a stone
  11. row — a line
  12. press — a publisher
  13. game — wild animals
  14. wind — moving air
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. club — a group
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. rock — music
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — to push
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. game — a match

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