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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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468
Word bank
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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wind — moving air
  4. kick — in football
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. press — newspapers
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. press — a publisher
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. snap — to click
  21. wind — moving air
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. press — to push

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