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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 120 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: hand · straw · plane · bay · press · last · bound · ball

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. last — to go on
  3. ball — a great time
  4. press — a publisher
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. last — finally
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. press — newspapers
  10. bound — certain
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — in cards
  13. press — to push
  14. bound — obliged
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bound — tied together
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. last — final
  22. ball — a dance
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. hand — help

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