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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 116 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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  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. club — a group
  2. press — to push
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — boats
  5. club — for golf
  6. press — newspapers
  7. perch — the fish
  8. wake — a trail
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. club — for dancing
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. press — a publisher
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. net — in sport
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. net — for catching
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. net — after costs
  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