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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 120 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — the underground
  6. current — happening now
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. clip — to cut
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — a publisher
  12. hand — in cards
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. hand — help
  16. current — electric
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. tube — a container
  19. press — to push
  20. wake — a trail
  21. clip — a video
  22. current — of water
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. clip — for paper

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