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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 124 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. clip — for paper
  3. press — to push
  4. row — to paddle
  5. cue — a signal
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bear — the animal
  8. press — newspapers
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. press — a publisher
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. clip — a video
  14. row — a line
  15. game — wild animals
  16. face — to point toward
  17. game — a match
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. bear — the animal
  21. clip — to cut
  22. face — to confront
  23. cue — a hint
  24. cue — for pool

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