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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. press — newspapers
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. ground — the earth
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. shower — to wash
  11. press — to push
  12. spring — a coil
  13. ground — crushed
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. spring — the season
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. press — a publisher
  20. tear — from crying
  21. ground — a position
  22. fall — to drop
  23. shower — rain
  24. spring — of water

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