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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. saw — the tool
  3. kick — in football
  4. lean — to bend
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. rule — a law
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. press — a publisher
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. rule — government
  15. spring — of water
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. lean — thin
  19. press — to push
  20. press — newspapers
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. spring — the season

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