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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. ball — a dance
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bound — certain
  6. can — to be able to
  7. ground — a position
  8. can — a tin
  9. ground — crushed
  10. club — a group
  11. press — to push
  12. ball — a great time
  13. club — for golf
  14. bound — obliged
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. ground — the earth
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. club — for dancing
  22. press — newspapers
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. can — a tin

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