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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 120 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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. row — a line
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. press — a publisher
  7. net — for catching
  8. bass — the fish
  9. net — after costs
  10. row — to paddle
  11. press — newspapers
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. bass — low music
  14. mark — a trace
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. net — in sport
  17. press — to push
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. kick — in football
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. mark — a grade

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