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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. track — a song
  3. ground — a position
  4. press — a publisher
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. press — to push
  7. track — to keep track
  8. staff — a stick
  9. press — newspapers
  10. clip — a video
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. clip — for paper
  13. ground — the earth
  14. staff — employees
  15. track — a path
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. staff — employees
  18. ground — crushed

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