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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. press — to push
  3. row — a line
  4. press — newspapers
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. scale — size or range
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. rash — hasty
  10. scale — in music
  11. press — a publisher
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. rash — a series
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. plane — a tool
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. pitcher — a jug

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