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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. chest — a box
  3. bound — tied together
  4. press — newspapers
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bound — certain
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. court — for sport
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cold — an illness
  13. press — a publisher
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bound — obliged
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. squash — to crush
  18. court — of a king
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. cold — not warm
  21. chest — of your body
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. court — of law
  24. chest — of your body

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