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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. wind — moving air
  3. plane — a tool
  4. press — to push
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. hand — help
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. row — a line
  10. mark — a grade
  11. press — newspapers
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. hand — in cards
  14. game — a match
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ground — a position
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — the earth
  22. press — a publisher
  23. mark — a trace
  24. game — wild animals

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