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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. mark — a trace
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. press — a publisher
  6. press — to push
  7. craft — boats
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. mark — a grade
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. game — wild animals
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. cold — an illness
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. cold — not warm
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. game — a match
  21. craft — a skill
  22. press — newspapers
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. calf — a young animal

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