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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. clip — for paper
  6. march — music
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — to push
  9. fork — in a road
  10. march — the month
  11. clip — a video
  12. press — newspapers
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. march — the month
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. fork — to eat with

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