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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. row — a line
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. race — the arms race
  8. staff — employees
  9. press — to push
  10. band — a music group
  11. saw — the tool
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — humankind
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. row — to paddle
  16. press — newspapers
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. staff — a stick
  22. staff — employees
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. band — a ring

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