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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. rash — a series
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. rash — hasty
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. spell — letters
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. press — to push
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. vault — a safe
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. spell — magic
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. snap — to click
  19. press — newspapers
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. foot — a measure
  24. press — a publisher

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