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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 124 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. press — to push
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. spring — the season
  5. clip — for paper
  6. file — a tool
  7. clip — a video
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. file — a line of people
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. shower — to wash
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. tube — a container
  16. press — newspapers
  17. tube — the underground
  18. shower — rain
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. file — a document
  21. press — a publisher
  22. snap — to click
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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