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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. press — to push
  4. clip — a video
  5. rash — a series
  6. capital — a city
  7. clip — for paper
  8. mate — to breed
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. mate — a partner
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. press — a publisher
  15. mine — for digging
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. mate — a friend
  18. press — newspapers
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. clip — to cut
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. capital — money
  23. rash — hasty
  24. rash — on the skin

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