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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. press — to push
  4. press — a publisher
  5. bound — tied together
  6. press — newspapers
  7. staff — employees
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. last — to go on
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. snap — to click
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. last — finally
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. staff — employees
  20. bound — certain
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. bound — obliged
  23. last — final
  24. squash — to crush

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