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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. clip — to cut
  3. kid — to tease
  4. press — to push
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — thin
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. press — a publisher
  10. clip — for paper
  11. press — newspapers
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. kid — child
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. clip — a video

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