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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. key — for a lock
  3. press — to push
  4. bat — the animal
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — in music
  8. press — newspapers
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. present — there
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. present — the time now
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bore — to drill
  16. press — a publisher
  17. net — after costs
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. net — for catching
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. prune — to trim
  22. net — in sport
  23. present — a gift
  24. bat — for baseball

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