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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 116 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: rest · cell · press · straw · shower · key · charge · ruler

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. charge — a price
  3. press — a publisher
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. key — in music
  8. rest — what's left
  9. charge — electricity
  10. rest — a break
  11. shower — to wash
  12. cell — a phone
  13. key — for a lock
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. rest — what's left
  16. cell — in biology
  17. press — newspapers
  18. press — to push
  19. shower — rain
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. charge — in control
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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