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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. press — to push
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. cell — a phone
  8. press — a publisher
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wake — a trail
  11. sharp — clever
  12. cell — in biology
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. press — newspapers
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. snap — to click
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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