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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 120 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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. file — a line of people
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. press — a publisher
  6. bear — the animal
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. object — a thing
  9. object — an aim
  10. capital — a city
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. press — newspapers
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. file — a document
  17. capital — money
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. press — to push
  20. file — a tool
  21. bear — the animal
  22. kick — in football
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. kick — with a leg

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