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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. capital — money
  3. ball — a dance
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. face — to point toward
  6. capital — a city
  7. ball — a great time
  8. shower — to wash
  9. press — newspapers
  10. shower — rain
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. clip — a video
  13. press — to push
  14. face — part of the head
  15. pound — a weight
  16. perch — the fish
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. press — a publisher
  19. face — to confront
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. clip — for paper
  24. pound — to hit hard

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