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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — magic
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. press — to push
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a song
  10. bat — the animal
  11. press — newspapers
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — to cut
  15. cue — a signal
  16. track — a path
  17. mate — a friend
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cue — a hint
  20. press — a publisher
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mate — a partner
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. clip — a video

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