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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. lean — to bend
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. lean — thin
  11. press — a publisher
  12. clip — a video
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. press — to push
  16. ball — a great time
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. ball — a dance
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. press — newspapers
  23. clip — to cut
  24. row — a line

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