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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. cap — a hat
  8. press — a publisher
  9. kid — to tease
  10. cap — a lid
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. wake — a trail
  13. clip — for paper
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. cap — of ice
  16. pitch — completely
  17. clip — a video
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — child
  21. press — to push
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. press — newspapers

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