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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. hand — in cards
  4. press — a publisher
  5. bound — certain
  6. firm — a company
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bound — tied together
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. hand — help
  12. bear — the animal
  13. firm — decided
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. bound — obliged
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bear — the animal
  19. press — newspapers
  20. cold — not warm
  21. vault — a safe
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. press — to push

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