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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bound — tied together
  5. clip — for paper
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. clip — a video
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mate — a friend
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. mate — to breed
  14. bulb — for light
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bound — obliged
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. kid — child
  19. mate — a partner
  20. press — a publisher
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bound — certain

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