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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. press — newspapers
  3. degree — from a university
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. press — a publisher
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. chest — of your body
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. chest — of your body
  11. key — the most important part
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. degree — temperature
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. game — a match
  18. degree — an amount
  19. key — for a lock
  20. chest — a box
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. game — wild animals
  24. key — in music

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