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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. drill — army training
  4. press — a publisher
  5. perch — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. drill — the tool
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a document
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. snap — to click
  14. swing — in golf
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. press — to push
  17. swing — to play on
  18. drill — a practice
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. press — newspapers
  21. lean — thin
  22. swing — music
  23. lean — to bend
  24. file — a tool

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