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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. chair — a leader
  6. swing — to play on
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. rest — what's left
  10. game — a match
  11. press — newspapers
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. lie — to recline
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — music
  18. game — wild animals
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. press — a publisher
  21. rest — a break
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. rest — what's left
  24. game — a kind of play

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