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

Word bank: straw · tear · leaves · bat · press · swing

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. press — newspapers
  3. press — a publisher
  4. tear — from crying
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. swing — in golf
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. tear — from crying
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. press — to push
  16. swing — to play on
  17. tear — to rip
  18. swing — music

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