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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 116 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. current — happening now
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. fall — to drop
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. current — electric
  7. fall — to drop
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. press — a publisher
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. kick — in football
  12. bat — the animal
  13. race — a contest
  14. press — newspapers
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. plane — a tool
  18. race — humankind
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. current — of water
  23. fall — the season
  24. race — the arms race

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