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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 120 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. chest — of your body
  5. capital — a city
  6. can — a tin
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. can — to be able to
  10. chest — a box
  11. press — a publisher
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. season — of the year
  14. season — in sport
  15. chest — of your body
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. press — newspapers
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — to wash
  21. press — to push
  22. can — a tin
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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