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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: saw · bowl · cabinet · press · straw · hand · kick · race

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. race — the arms race
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. race — humankind
  10. press — newspapers
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. kick — in football
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. saw — the tool
  22. press — a publisher
  23. race — a contest
  24. press — to push

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