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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 120 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. craft — boats
  4. tear — to rip
  5. press — a publisher
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. press — newspapers
  8. last — final
  9. last — to go on
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. clip — a video
  12. press — to push
  13. last — finally
  14. clip — to cut
  15. craft — a skill
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. craft — a handicraft

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