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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — a coil
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. net — after costs
  6. press — to push
  7. net — in sport
  8. fall — the season
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. wake — a trail
  11. face — part of the head
  12. press — a publisher
  13. spring — of water
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. fall — to drop
  16. face — to confront
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. fall — to drop
  21. press — newspapers
  22. net — for catching
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. face — to point toward

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