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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. ground — a position
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. bound — tied together
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to bend
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. dip — to sink
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. press — a publisher
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. ground — crushed
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bound — certain
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. squash — the sport
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bark — to shout
  22. ground — the earth
  23. press — to push
  24. squash — to crush

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