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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bear — the animal
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. bear — the animal
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. vault — a safe
  12. clip — for paper
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. press — newspapers
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. tear — from crying
  18. foot — a measure
  19. tear — from crying
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. tear — to rip
  23. press — a publisher
  24. foot — part of the body

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