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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. degree — temperature
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bear — the animal
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. chest — a box
  12. press — a publisher
  13. dip — to sink
  14. press — newspapers
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. degree — from a university
  17. chest — of your body
  18. degree — an amount
  19. press — to push
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. rule — government
  22. rule — a law
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bear — the animal

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