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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: straw · mouse · fork · degree · snap · chair · press · bat

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. degree — from a university
  4. snap — to click
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. fork — in a road
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. press — a publisher
  9. degree — an amount
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. chair — a leader
  16. press — to push
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. degree — temperature
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. press — newspapers
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. bat — the animal

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