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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. swing — to play on
  3. press — to push
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bound — tied together
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — to confront
  8. net — for catching
  9. bound — obliged
  10. net — after costs
  11. press — a publisher
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. file — a tool
  14. bound — certain
  15. press — newspapers
  16. file — a line of people
  17. face — part of the head
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. perch — the fish
  20. net — in sport
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. swing — in golf
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. file — a document

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