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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. press — a publisher
  3. season — of the year
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. season — in sport
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. drill — the tool
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. file — a line of people
  11. press — to push
  12. file — a tool
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. drill — a practice
  20. press — newspapers
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — hasty
  23. drill — army training
  24. file — a document

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