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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fan · press · bowl · deal · wake · tear · hand · game

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. press — a publisher
  6. game — wild animals
  7. hand — help
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. deal — to handle
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wake — a trail
  14. hand — in cards
  15. press — to push
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. press — newspapers
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. tear — to rip
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — a match
  24. deal — a big deal

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