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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. land — a country
  3. saw — the tool
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. spell — letters
  7. saw — the tool
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. press — newspapers
  11. bass — the fish
  12. land — ground
  13. land — to come down
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. press — a publisher
  17. bass — low music
  18. spell — magic
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. lean — thin
  21. press — to push
  22. spell — a short time
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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