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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. press — a publisher
  6. cold — not warm
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — final
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. plane — a tool
  14. press — to push
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. squash — to crush
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. content — happy
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. cold — an illness
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. squash — the sport
  23. last — finally
  24. content — the amount

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