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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. tear — from crying
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. press — newspapers
  6. chair — a leader
  7. swing — music
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. swing — to play on
  10. face — to confront
  11. lean — thin
  12. lean — to bend
  13. swing — in golf
  14. stem — to come from
  15. face — part of the head
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. face — to point toward
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. press — a publisher
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. tear — to rip
  22. press — to push
  23. tear — from crying
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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