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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — for dancing
  5. pop — soda
  6. lean — to bend
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. chest — a box
  9. hand — in cards
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — for sport
  13. press — a publisher
  14. hand — help
  15. chest — of your body
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. club — a group
  18. lean — thin
  19. pop — music
  20. press — to push
  21. chest — of your body
  22. press — newspapers
  23. court — of law
  24. pop — to visit

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