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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bass — low music
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. field — a subject
  8. club — a group
  9. press — a publisher
  10. prune — to trim
  11. press — newspapers
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bass — the fish
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. rest — a break
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. club — for golf
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. club — for dancing

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