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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. press — to push
  3. roll — a list
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. clip — to cut
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. land — ground
  9. land — a country
  10. press — a publisher
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. court — of law
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. clip — a video
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. court — for sport
  20. roll — a cake
  21. press — newspapers
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. court — of a king
  24. land — to come down

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