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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. clip — for paper
  4. lean — to bend
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. bat — the animal
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. clip — a video
  10. press — to push
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. prune — to trim
  13. lie — to recline
  14. clip — to cut
  15. prune — to trim
  16. lean — thin
  17. kick — in football
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. press — a publisher
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. bat — for baseball
  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