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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: press · lash · wind · straw · bowl · face · club · file

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. file — a line of people
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. press — newspapers
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. face — to confront
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. club — a group
  15. press — a publisher
  16. file — a tool
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to point toward
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. file — a document
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. press — to push
  23. club — for golf
  24. club — for dancing

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