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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. mate — a friend
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. mate — to breed
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. press — newspapers
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. press — to push
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. cold — an illness
  14. tube — a container
  15. press — a publisher
  16. row — to paddle
  17. mate — a partner
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. cold — not warm
  20. row — a line
  21. rush — hurry
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. tube — the underground

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