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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. court — for sport
  5. race — the arms race
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. race — a contest
  8. pound — a weight
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. press — a publisher
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. press — to push
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. chair — a leader
  19. court — of law
  20. fork — in a road
  21. press — newspapers
  22. race — humankind
  23. court — of a king
  24. fork — a garden tool

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