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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 116 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. scale — size or range
  3. scale — in music
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. press — to push
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. last — finally
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. press — newspapers
  11. last — to go on
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. press — a publisher
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a line
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. hide — to keep secret

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