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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 smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. net — after costs
  5. bear — the animal
  6. press — a publisher
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. degree — temperature
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — a phone
  12. net — for catching
  13. press — newspapers
  14. press — to push
  15. stand — to bear
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. net — in sport
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bear — the animal
  21. degree — from a university
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. cell — in biology
  24. pitcher — a jug

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