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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. plane — a tool
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. tube — the underground
  8. press — a publisher
  9. field — for sport
  10. foot — a measure
  11. tube — a container
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — farmland
  14. press — to push
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. press — newspapers
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. last — finally
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kick — in football

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