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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. bat — the animal
  3. press — newspapers
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. cell — a phone
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. sharp — clever
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. chest — a box
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. press — to push
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. mark — a trace
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. mark — a grade
  18. chest — of your body
  19. press — a publisher
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. cell — in biology
  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