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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. scale — in music
  4. net — after costs
  5. press — a publisher
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. press — newspapers
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. scale — size or range
  12. pass — a permit
  13. net — in sport
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wax — to grow
  17. kick — in football
  18. press — to push
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. spring — the season
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. spring — of water
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. net — for catching

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