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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. clip — for paper
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. lean — to bend
  5. kid — child
  6. key — the most important part
  7. kid — to tease
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. row — to paddle
  10. press — a publisher
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — thin
  13. key — for a lock
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. clip — a video
  16. press — newspapers
  17. clip — to cut
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. key — in music
  20. wake — a trail
  21. press — to push
  22. row — a line
  23. dip — to sink
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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