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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. row — a line
  3. spell — letters
  4. press — a publisher
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — magic
  10. press — newspapers
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wax — to grow
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. row — to paddle
  19. press — to push
  20. pitch — completely
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. row — a quarrel

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