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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. fall — the season
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. shower — rain
  5. fall — to drop
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. fall — to drop
  9. land — ground
  10. press — to push
  11. clip — a video
  12. press — a publisher
  13. clip — to cut
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — a country
  16. press — newspapers
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bowl — to roll

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