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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  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. press — a publisher
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. track — a path
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cap — a lid
  8. press — to push
  9. content — the amount
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. cap — of ice
  13. roll — a cake
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. wound — an injury
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. track — to keep track
  18. content — happy
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. track — a song
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wound — an injury
  23. roll — a list
  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