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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: straw · file · bat · press · plane · ground · stick · present

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. present — there
  3. ground — a position
  4. bat — the animal
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. ground — the earth
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. ground — crushed
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. press — newspapers
  13. file — a tool
  14. press — a publisher
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. file — a document
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. plane — a tool
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — a gift

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