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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. season — in sport
  3. press — to push
  4. rule — a law
  5. kid — to tease
  6. press — a publisher
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. pop — to visit
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. pop — music
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. season — of the year
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. pop — soda
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — a city
  19. row — a line
  20. capital — money
  21. kid — child
  22. rule — government
  23. press — newspapers
  24. mouse — the animal

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