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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. saw — the tool
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. cell — in biology
  8. chest — of your body
  9. net — in sport
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. cell — a phone
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rush — hurry
  15. press — newspapers
  16. net — after costs
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. press — to push
  19. chest — a box
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. net — for catching
  24. press — a publisher

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