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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. charge — electricity
  3. net — for catching
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — to push
  6. charge — in control
  7. net — after costs
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. swing — in golf
  14. press — newspapers
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. net — in sport
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. swing — music
  21. lie — to recline
  22. cold — not warm
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. charge — a price

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