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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. kick — in football
  4. rush — hurry
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a line of people
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. bear — the animal
  11. file — a document
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. press — newspapers
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. press — a publisher
  22. stand — to bear
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. bear — the animal

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