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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. row — a line
  3. drill — the tool
  4. mine — for digging
  5. spell — a short time
  6. shower — rain
  7. kick — in football
  8. band — a music group
  9. shower — to wash
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — a practice
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. spell — magic
  18. press — to push
  19. row — to paddle
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. press — a publisher
  22. spell — letters
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a ring

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