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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 124 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. mine — for digging
  4. rock — music
  5. row — a line
  6. row — to paddle
  7. clip — a video
  8. roll — a cake
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. clip — for paper
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. press — newspapers
  15. rock — a stone
  16. roll — a list
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. clip — to cut
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. press — to push
  24. press — a publisher

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