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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: press · net · straw · row · ground · court · race · suit

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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. net — for catching
  4. race — a contest
  5. net — after costs
  6. suit — to fit
  7. press — to push
  8. court — of a king
  9. suit — clothes
  10. race — humankind
  11. court — for sport
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. suit — in cards
  14. race — the arms race
  15. court — of law
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. press — newspapers
  19. net — in sport
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a line
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — a position

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