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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. press — a publisher
  3. plane — a tool
  4. staff — employees
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. cold — not warm
  7. net — in sport
  8. clip — to cut
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. hand — help
  12. staff — employees
  13. cold — an illness
  14. net — for catching
  15. clip — a video
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. net — after costs
  19. press — newspapers
  20. staff — a stick
  21. dip — to sink
  22. press — to push
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. clip — for paper

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