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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. game — wild animals
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. press — a publisher
  5. row — to paddle
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. press — to push
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. bat — the animal
  12. press — newspapers
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. game — a match
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. rash — hasty
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. kick — in football
  22. rash — a series
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. row — a line

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