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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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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: game · snap · season · stick · mug · straw · cell · press

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. mug — to rob
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. mug — a cup
  5. press — newspapers
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. game — a match
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. mug — a face
  11. cell — a phone
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. press — a publisher
  16. game — wild animals
  17. press — to push
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. season — of the year
  21. cell — in biology
  22. season — in sport
  23. snap — to click
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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