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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. mine — for digging
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. press — to push
  16. press — a publisher
  17. cold — an illness
  18. press — newspapers
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. cold — not warm
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. branch — a division
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — for tennis

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