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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. key — for a lock
  5. root — of a plant
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. key — the most important part
  8. cell — a phone
  9. band — a music group
  10. cell — in biology
  11. root — of a word
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cold — an illness
  14. press — newspapers
  15. band — a ring
  16. bear — the animal
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. cold — not warm
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. root — the cause
  21. bear — the animal
  22. press — a publisher
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. key — in 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