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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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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. press — to push
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. march — the month
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cold — an illness
  13. current — electric
  14. current — of water
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. march — the month
  18. cold — not warm
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — a publisher
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. march — music
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. current — happening now

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