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

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. chest — of your body
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. press — newspapers
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pit — in a race
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pit — a hole
  12. chest — a box
  13. clip — a video
  14. press — a publisher
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. press — to push
  18. hide — to keep secret

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