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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. bound — obliged
  3. press — to push
  4. press — a publisher
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. press — newspapers
  8. mug — to rob
  9. net — after costs
  10. bound — tied together
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. net — in sport
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. net — for catching
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. can — a tin
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. can — a tin
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. mug — a cup
  21. mug — a face
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bound — certain

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