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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bound — tied together
  5. pass — a permit
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. squash — the sport
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. press — to push
  10. press — newspapers
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. spring — of water
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. chest — a box
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. spring — a coil
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. press — a publisher
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. spring — the season
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bound — certain

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