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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. press — to push
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. saw — the tool
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. ball — a great time
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. press — a publisher
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — a series
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. press — newspapers
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. deal — to handle
  21. saw — the tool
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. ball — a dance

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