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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. perch — the fish
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. press — a publisher
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. kid — to tease
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. object — an aim
  13. snap — to click
  14. press — newspapers
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. object — to protest
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wind — moving air
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. wind — moving air
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. object — a thing
  24. kid — child

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