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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. saw — the tool
  3. shower — to wash
  4. press — newspapers
  5. saw — the tool
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. staff — a stick
  8. shower — rain
  9. press — to push
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. press — a publisher
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — employees
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. tube — a container
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. fork — in a road
  24. tear — to rip

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