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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 was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. field — for sport
  3. staff — employees
  4. suit — clothes
  5. prune — to trim
  6. press — a publisher
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. suit — to fit
  10. march — the month
  11. field — a subject
  12. staff — a stick
  13. press — to push
  14. wind — moving air
  15. march — music
  16. staff — employees
  17. suit — in cards
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. march — the month
  23. field — farmland
  24. press — newspapers

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