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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: bowl · press · drill · bound · rest · straw · race · snap

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bound — obliged
  4. rest — a break
  5. bound — tied together
  6. snap — to click
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. press — a publisher
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. drill — the tool
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. press — to push
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. rest — what's left
  16. drill — a practice
  17. rest — what's left
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bound — certain
  20. press — newspapers
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. drill — army training
  24. race — a contest

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