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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. mate — a partner
  3. board — a committee
  4. band — a ring
  5. mate — a friend
  6. present — the time now
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. press — to push
  11. board — to get on
  12. present — there
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. press — a publisher
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — clever
  17. fine — all right
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. mate — to breed
  22. band — a music group
  23. press — newspapers
  24. fine — high quality

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