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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 120 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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. season — of the year
  3. press — to push
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. scale — in music
  6. clip — to cut
  7. scale — size or range
  8. rock — music
  9. clip — a video
  10. press — newspapers
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. rock — a stone
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. chest — a box
  16. season — in sport
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. press — a publisher
  22. chest — of your body
  23. clip — for paper
  24. chest — of your body

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