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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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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: fall · straw · cell · rock · press · bank · rest · vault

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. cell — a phone
  7. vault — a safe
  8. press — newspapers
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. rest — a break
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bank — for money
  13. bank — for money
  14. rest — what's left
  15. fall — to drop
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. bank — of a river
  18. press — to push
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. press — a publisher
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rest — what's left
  24. cell — in biology

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