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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 124 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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. press — a publisher
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. date — the fruit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — the animal
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. prune — to trim
  12. last — to go on
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. last — final
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. last — finally
  18. press — to push
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. press — newspapers
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — low music

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