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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cell — a phone
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. club — for dancing
  5. row — to paddle
  6. tear — from crying
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — in biology
  10. dip — to sink
  11. press — to push
  12. press — newspapers
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. row — a line
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. club — a group
  17. foot — a measure
  18. club — for golf
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. tear — to rip
  21. press — a publisher
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. tear — from crying
  24. row — a quarrel

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