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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: press · ruler · mine · roll · cabinet · row · mate · stick

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. mate — a partner
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. press — to push
  5. row — a line
  6. press — a publisher
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. mine — for digging
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. mate — a friend
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. roll — a list
  23. mate — to breed
  24. press — newspapers

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