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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. row — to paddle
  3. press — to push
  4. fall — to drop
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. content — the amount
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. row — a line
  11. cell — in biology
  12. press — a publisher
  13. fall — to drop
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. fall — the season
  17. content — happy
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. mine — for digging
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. press — newspapers

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