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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: straw · wind · club · press · rock · mine · lean · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. lean — thin
  3. press — newspapers
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rock — a stone
  6. press — a publisher
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mine — for digging
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. press — to push
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. rock — music
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. club — for golf
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wind — moving air
  21. club — for dancing
  22. club — a group
  23. lean — to bend
  24. straw — a straw man

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