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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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Word bank
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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: press · hide · capital · straw · stick · shower

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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. stick — a piece of wood
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. shower — rain
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. capital — a city
  9. press — to push
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. capital — money
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. shower — to wash
  16. press — newspapers
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. press — a publisher

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