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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. season — of the year
  3. net — after costs
  4. press — to push
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. press — a publisher
  11. season — in sport
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — tied together
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. net — for catching
  17. clip — to cut
  18. press — newspapers
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. net — in sport
  21. clip — a video
  22. bat — the animal
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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