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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. tear — from crying
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. press — newspapers
  8. file — a document
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. press — a publisher
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. tear — to rip
  19. press — to push
  20. file — a line of people
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. file — a tool
  23. march — the month
  24. lie — to recline

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