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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Word bank
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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. press — to push
  4. wind — moving air
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. lean — to bend
  7. land — to come down
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. press — a publisher
  11. land — ground
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. land — a country
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. press — newspapers
  19. lean — thin
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. kick — in football

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