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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — a line
  6. press — a publisher
  7. date — the fruit
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. press — newspapers
  11. wind — moving air
  12. spell — magic
  13. wind — moving air
  14. row — to paddle
  15. vault — a safe
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. press — to push
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. lie — to recline
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. spell — a short time
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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