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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. press — newspapers
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. last — to go on
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. shower — rain
  13. press — a publisher
  14. last — finally
  15. stock — goods
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. toast — bread
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — a phone
  20. last — final
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. shower — to wash
  24. stock — shares

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