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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. spell — letters
  3. pop — music
  4. chest — a box
  5. bound — certain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pop — soda
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. chest — of your body
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — magic
  15. shower — rain
  16. row — to paddle
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. bound — obliged
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. press — newspapers
  21. chest — of your body
  22. press — a publisher
  23. bound — tied together
  24. press — to push

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