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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. press — newspapers
  3. fine — high quality
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. saw — the tool
  6. press — to push
  7. bound — tied together
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. bound — certain
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bark — to shout
  15. craft — a skill
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. craft — boats
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. squash — to crush
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. bound — obliged
  22. saw — the tool
  23. squash — the sport
  24. straw — dry grass

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