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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. ground — the earth
  4. mug — a face
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. mug — a cup
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. ground — a position
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. present — a gift
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. ground — crushed
  13. mug — to rob
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — hasty
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. press — a publisher
  20. rash — a series
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — to push
  23. present — there
  24. present — the time now

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