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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. club — for dancing
  3. scale — size or range
  4. club — a group
  5. chest — of your body
  6. ball — a great time
  7. club — for golf
  8. scale — in music
  9. press — newspapers
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. press — a publisher
  13. mark — a trace
  14. ball — a dance
  15. lean — to bend
  16. mark — a grade
  17. lean — thin
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. chest — of your body
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. chest — a box
  24. ball — a round shape

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