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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. mate — to breed
  4. press — newspapers
  5. press — to push
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. bat — the animal
  8. spell — a short time
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. spell — letters
  11. mate — a partner
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. chest — a box
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. press — a publisher
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. chest — of your body
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. mate — a friend
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. spell — magic

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