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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. 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. pound — to hit hard
  2. stem — to come from
  3. pound — a weight
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — to push
  9. bat — the animal
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. 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