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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 broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. lean — to bend
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. court — for sport
  6. craft — boats
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. file — a line of people
  9. land — to come down
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. press — newspapers
  12. file — a document
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. craft — a skill
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. land — ground
  17. press — a publisher
  18. land — a country
  19. court — of a king
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. court — of law
  22. lean — thin
  23. press — to push
  24. file — a tool

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