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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · arm · wind · fan · press · fall

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fall — to drop
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. fall — the season
  5. press — a publisher
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. press — newspapers
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. press — to push

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