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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. bank — of a river
  3. chest — of your body
  4. saw — the tool
  5. press — newspapers
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. toast — bread
  8. chest — a box
  9. press — to push
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. saw — the tool
  12. field — farmland
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. chest — of your body
  15. field — for sport
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. press — a publisher
  20. bank — for money
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. bank — for money

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