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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. march — the month
  8. squash — to crush
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — a subject
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. press — to push
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. file — a document
  16. plane — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. field — for sport
  19. squash — the sport
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. file — a tool
  24. press — newspapers

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