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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. spring — a coil
  3. lean — thin
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. lean — to bend
  6. kid — child
  7. spell — letters
  8. press — newspapers
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. game — wild animals
  11. spell — magic
  12. press — to push
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. game — a match
  19. roll — a list
  20. press — a publisher
  21. kid — to tease
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. spell — a short time

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