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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: fall · wave · press · vault · straw · plane

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  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. press — to push
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. plane — a tool
  6. vault — a safe
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. fall — the season
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. fall — to drop
  14. press — newspapers
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — an aircraft
  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