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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. row — to paddle
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. press — to push
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. snap — to click
  11. press — a publisher
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. row — a line
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. court — of law
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bore — to drill
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. bore — to tire
  23. court — of a king
  24. press — newspapers

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