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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. file — a tool
  3. staff — employees
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. press — newspapers
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. march — the month
  11. file — a document
  12. press — a publisher
  13. fall — to drop
  14. staff — a stick
  15. fall — the season
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — in cards
  20. press — to push
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. march — music
  23. file — a line of people
  24. staff — employees

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