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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. mark — a grade
  5. pass — a permit
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. press — a publisher
  9. rest — what's left
  10. press — to push
  11. press — newspapers
  12. rest — a break
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. present — there
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. present — a gift
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. present — the time now
  21. rest — what's left
  22. mark — a trace
  23. clip — a video
  24. coach — a trainer

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