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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: date · game · row · press · mark · straw · roll · kick

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. roll — a cake
  3. press — a publisher
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. roll — a list
  6. press — newspapers
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. row — a line
  10. kick — in football
  11. game — wild animals
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. mark — a trace
  14. date — the fruit
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. press — to push
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. game — a match
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. roll — on a roll

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