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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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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. spell — a short time
  3. row — to paddle
  4. mark — a trace
  5. ground — a position
  6. pound — a weight
  7. press — to push
  8. mark — a grade
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. row — a line
  12. ground — the earth
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. press — newspapers
  15. chest — of your body
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. spell — letters
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. ground — crushed
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. press — a publisher
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. spell — magic

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