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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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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: press · clip · field · ball · nail · wave · lean · straw

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. press — to push
  4. field — a subject
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. press — newspapers
  8. clip — to cut
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. clip — for paper
  12. ball — a great time
  13. field — farmland
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. press — a publisher
  19. lean — to bend
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. clip — a video
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. ball — a dance
  24. field — for sport

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