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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. pit — a hole
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. drill — the tool
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. press — a publisher
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. drill — a practice
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. press — to push
  15. lie — to recline
  16. drill — army training
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. snap — to click
  22. press — newspapers
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pit — in a race

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