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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. rock — a stone
  5. spell — magic
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. press — to push
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. spell — a short time
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. mine — for digging
  20. spell — letters
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — newspapers
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. pitcher — a jug

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