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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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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: bass · face · firm · spring · cap · wind · press · straw

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. press — a publisher
  3. wind — moving air
  4. face — to confront
  5. cap — of ice
  6. wind — moving air
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — the season
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. face — to point toward
  11. bass — low music
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bass — the fish
  14. firm — steady
  15. press — newspapers
  16. face — part of the head
  17. press — to push
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. firm — decided
  20. firm — a company
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bass — the instrument

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