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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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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. press — to push
  3. tear — from crying
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. hand — in cards
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. hand — help
  8. press — newspapers
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fine — all right
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. tear — to rip
  20. fine — high quality
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bat — the animal
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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