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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 116 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: calf · straw · press · staff · lean · snap · pit · cold

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. press — a publisher
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. pit — in a race
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — a stick
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. pit — a hole
  12. press — to push
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. lean — thin
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. staff — employees
  20. snap — to click
  21. cold — not warm
  22. press — newspapers
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. lean — to bend

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