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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 function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. press — a publisher
  3. press — to push
  4. cold — not warm
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. shower — to wash
  9. chest — of your body
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. cold — an illness
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. vault — a safe
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. chest — a box
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. chest — of your body
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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