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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. spring — the season
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. press — to push
  5. spring — of water
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. spring — a coil
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — the fruit
  14. current — of water
  15. press — newspapers
  16. current — happening now
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fall — to drop
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. current — electric
  24. fall — 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