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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. press — to push
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. rule — a law
  6. file — a line of people
  7. wake — a trail
  8. rule — government
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. mug — to rob
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. mug — a cup
  13. mug — a face
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. press — newspapers
  16. press — a publisher
  17. rock — music
  18. hand — help
  19. file — a tool
  20. hand — in cards
  21. file — a document
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rock — a stone
  24. rock — to move gently

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