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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: bat · spring · last · straw · scale · current · toast · press

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. spring — the season
  3. press — to push
  4. scale — size or range
  5. last — final
  6. current — of water
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. toast — bread
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — finally
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. spring — a coil
  17. current — happening now
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. scale — in music
  20. press — newspapers
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. current — electric
  23. spring — of water
  24. bat — for baseball

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