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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. mate — a partner
  3. last — finally
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. mate — to breed
  6. last — final
  7. stand — to bear
  8. firm — steady
  9. chest — of your body
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. press — a publisher
  12. firm — a company
  13. press — newspapers
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. chest — a box
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chest — of your body
  18. press — to push
  19. mate — a friend
  20. last — to go on
  21. firm — decided
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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