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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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. hand — part of the body
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. hand — help
  6. land — a country
  7. row — to paddle
  8. press — to push
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. land — to come down
  11. board — to get on
  12. stem — to come from
  13. hand — in cards
  14. board — a committee
  15. row — a line
  16. pitch — completely
  17. deal — to handle
  18. press — a publisher
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. press — newspapers
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. land — ground
  24. board — a flat piece

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