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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. content — happy
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. press — newspapers
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. kid — child
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. content — the amount
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bat — the animal
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pass — a permit
  18. press — to push
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. fine — all right
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. kid — to tease
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — before a funeral

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