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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fall — to drop
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. press — to push
  11. fall — the season
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. cell — in biology
  15. fall — to drop
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. cell — a phone
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. press — a publisher
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. press — newspapers
  23. fine — high quality
  24. ruler — for measuring

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