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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 116 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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. sharp — clever
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. press — to push
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. craft — boats
  12. field — for sport
  13. wound — an injury
  14. craft — a skill
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. field — a subject
  18. wound — an injury
  19. press — a publisher
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. field — farmland
  23. press — newspapers
  24. craft — a handicraft

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