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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. press — to push
  3. wind — moving air
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. plane — a tool
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. press — newspapers
  12. land — a country
  13. land — to come down
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. game — wild animals
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. stand — to bear
  20. land — ground
  21. wind — moving air
  22. press — a publisher
  23. game — a match
  24. stand — on your feet

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