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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: toast · club · last · straw · board · press · cue · wind

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. cue — a hint
  3. cue — a signal
  4. board — a committee
  5. last — final
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — for golf
  9. wind — moving air
  10. press — newspapers
  11. board — to get on
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. toast — bread
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. last — finally
  18. club — a group
  19. last — to go on
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cue — for pool
  23. press — a publisher
  24. straw — a straw man

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