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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. scale — in music
  3. saw — the tool
  4. mate — a friend
  5. cell — a phone
  6. clip — to cut
  7. press — a publisher
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — certain
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. clip — for paper
  13. press — to push
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. press — newspapers
  17. mate — a partner
  18. cell — in biology
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. clip — a video
  21. scale — size or range
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. mate — to breed
  24. bound — obliged

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