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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. press — to push
  3. lean — to bend
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cell — in biology
  6. march — the month
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. key — the most important part
  9. lean — thin
  10. key — in music
  11. net — in sport
  12. march — the month
  13. saw — the tool
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. net — for catching
  16. cell — a phone
  17. march — music
  18. saw — the tool
  19. key — for a lock
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. net — after costs
  23. press — newspapers
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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