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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  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. staff — employees
  2. stand — to bear
  3. field — for sport
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. field — a subject
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — to handle
  13. row — a line
  14. staff — a stick
  15. staff — employees
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. press — to push
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. field — farmland
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. row — to paddle
  23. straw — dry grass
  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