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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. present — the time now
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. bore — to drill
  6. press — a publisher
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. chest — a box
  12. bore — to tire
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. spring — the season
  16. present — there
  17. present — a gift
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. press — to push
  21. spring — a coil
  22. press — newspapers
  23. spring — of water
  24. chest — of your body

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