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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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468
Word bank
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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 water is too ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. press — to push
  3. press — newspapers
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. pit — a hole
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. kick — in football
  10. craft — a skill
  11. row — a line
  12. spell — magic
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — to paddle
  17. craft — boats
  18. rush — hurry
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. cold — an illness
  21. press — a publisher
  22. pit — in a race
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — a short time

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