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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. kid — child
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. press — to push
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. kid — to tease
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. net — after costs
  12. press — newspapers
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. scale — in music
  15. press — a publisher
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. scale — size or range
  22. net — for catching
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. net — in sport

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