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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. land — a country
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — in sport
  5. press — to push
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. row — to paddle
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. land — ground
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. press — a publisher
  17. net — after costs
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. wake — a trail
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. dip — to sink
  22. press — newspapers
  23. land — to come down
  24. hide — to keep secret

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