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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. press — a publisher
  4. rule — a law
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. saw — the tool
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — the season
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. club — for dancing
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. spring — of water
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — a short time
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. rule — government
  19. club — for golf
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. press — to push
  23. club — a group
  24. press — newspapers

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