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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. game — a match
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. game — wild animals
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. file — a tool
  13. scale — size or range
  14. press — to push
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. press — a publisher
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people
  19. branch — a division
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a leader
  22. press — newspapers
  23. scale — in music
  24. lash — to lash out

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