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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 116 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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. last — final
  5. press — to push
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. wound — an injury
  8. vault — a safe
  9. wound — an injury
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. press — a publisher
  12. deal — to handle
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bear — the animal
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. bear — the animal
  23. press — newspapers
  24. straw — a straw man

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