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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wind — moving air
  3. kid — child
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. clip — a video
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. press — a publisher
  12. press — newspapers
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. clip — for paper
  22. saw — the tool
  23. wind — moving air
  24. press — to push

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