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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: ball · press · chest · nail · lash · mug · track · straw

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. track — a song
  3. ball — a great time
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. mug — a cup
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. press — to push
  10. chest — a box
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. mug — to rob
  13. chest — of your body
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ball — a dance
  18. chest — of your body
  19. track — a path
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. press — newspapers
  22. track — to keep track
  23. mug — a face
  24. nail — for a hammer

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