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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. press — a publisher
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. tube — the underground
  5. saw — the tool
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — a container
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. rock — a stone
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. hand — help
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. press — to push
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. saw — the tool
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. field — farmland
  23. press — newspapers
  24. rock — music

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