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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 116 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. land — a country
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. press — newspapers
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. mark — a grade
  8. press — to push
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. file — a tool
  11. cue — a signal
  12. land — to come down
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. cue — a hint
  17. mark — a trace
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. land — ground
  20. cue — for pool
  21. press — a publisher
  22. file — a document
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. file — a line of people

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