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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: content · straw · row · cue · press · file · vault · last

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. press — to push
  3. last — to go on
  4. file — a tool
  5. row — a line
  6. row — to paddle
  7. press — newspapers
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. cue — a hint
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. last — final
  15. vault — a safe
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. cue — for pool
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. cue — a signal
  20. file — a line of people
  21. press — a publisher
  22. last — finally
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. file — a document

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