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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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. saw — the tool
  4. key — for a lock
  5. key — in music
  6. clip — for paper
  7. squash — the sport
  8. press — a publisher
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. clip — a video
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. saw — the tool
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. squash — to crush
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. row — to paddle
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. key — the most important part
  23. press — newspapers
  24. row — a line

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