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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. tube — a container
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. hand — in cards
  6. row — a line
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. press — to push
  9. drill — army training
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. tube — the underground
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. press — newspapers
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bound — certain
  18. prune — to trim
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bound — tied together
  21. drill — the tool
  22. prune — to trim
  23. press — a publisher
  24. row — to paddle

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