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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 116 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. board — a committee
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — to push
  6. hand — help
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. file — a line of people
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. press — newspapers
  17. board — to get on
  18. file — a tool
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. snap — to click
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. file — a document
  24. ruler — for measuring

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