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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. press — a publisher
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. stem — to come from
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. sharp — clever
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. clip — for paper
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. fine — all right
  11. saw — the tool
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. saw — the tool
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. press — newspapers
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. fine — high quality
  22. press — to push
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. bowl — a football final

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