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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  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. racket — a loud noise
  2. spell — letters
  3. game — wild animals
  4. spell — a short time
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. press — to push
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. spell — magic
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bear — the animal
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. game — a match
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. press — newspapers
  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