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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 116 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. fall — to drop
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. fall — to drop
  5. press — a publisher
  6. deal — to handle
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. press — to push
  9. file — a line of people
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. file — a document
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. press — newspapers
  14. file — a tool
  15. kid — to tease
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. row — a line
  20. kick — in football
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. row — to paddle
  23. kid — child
  24. fall — the season

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