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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — newspapers
  6. craft — a skill
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. press — to push
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. foot — a measure
  11. game — a match
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. cap — a hat
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. bat — the animal
  18. craft — boats
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cap — of ice
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. bat — in an idiom

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