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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bear — the animal
  5. clip — a video
  6. press — a publisher
  7. track — a path
  8. band — a ring
  9. face — part of the head
  10. clip — to cut
  11. track — to keep track
  12. track — a song
  13. face — to confront
  14. press — newspapers
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bear — the animal
  17. rest — a break
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. rest — what's left
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a music group
  22. rest — what's left
  23. press — to push
  24. face — to point toward

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