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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. press — to push
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bass — low music
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. press — a publisher
  7. fork — in a road
  8. current — electric
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. sharp — clever
  11. current — of water
  12. dip — to sink
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bass — the fish
  15. field — farmland
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. field — for sport
  21. press — newspapers
  22. field — a subject
  23. current — happening now
  24. dip — a sauce

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