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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · coach · bowl · clip · straw · staff · row · scale

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. staff — employees
  3. scale — in music
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — size or range
  8. staff — employees
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. clip — to cut
  11. press — to push
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. staff — a stick
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. press — newspapers
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. row — a line
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. row — to paddle

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