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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. press — a publisher
  3. fine — high quality
  4. foot — a measure
  5. clip — a video
  6. bank — of a river
  7. fine — all right
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. shower — rain
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. present — there
  12. press — to push
  13. present — the time now
  14. bank — for money
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. present — a gift
  20. bank — for money
  21. clip — for paper
  22. press — newspapers
  23. shower — to wash
  24. fine — a penalty

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