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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 120 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. content — the amount
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. press — a publisher
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. face — to point toward
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — a trail
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. press — to push
  14. content — happy
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. face — part of the head
  18. press — newspapers
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. face — to confront
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. rash — a series
  24. march — music

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