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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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Word bank
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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: bat · cold · band · straw · press · lash · charge · pass

  1. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to spend time
  2. band — a music group
  3. cold — an illness
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. charge — in control
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. press — to push
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. cold — not warm
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. charge — a price
  18. press — a publisher
  19. charge — electricity
  20. pass — a permit
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bat — the animal
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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