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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. board — a committee
  3. kick — in football
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. bat — the animal
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. press — newspapers
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. hand — in cards
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. board — to get on
  20. hand — help
  21. press — to push
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. press — a publisher
  24. kick — with a leg

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