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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 116 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. bound — obliged
  5. drill — the tool
  6. content — happy
  7. lean — to bend
  8. bound — certain
  9. drill — a practice
  10. swing — to play on
  11. drill — army training
  12. press — a publisher
  13. lean — thin
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. saw — the tool
  16. swing — music
  17. content — the amount
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bound — tied together
  21. swing — in golf
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. press — newspapers

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