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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. press — a publisher
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. ball — a dance
  7. press — newspapers
  8. can — to be able to
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. file — a tool
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. file — a document
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. file — a line of people
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. press — to push
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — a tin
  24. wave — with your hand

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