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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. clip — to cut
  4. press — newspapers
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. clip — for paper
  10. press — a publisher
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. press — to push
  15. clip — a video
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — thin
  18. lean — to rest against

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