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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cell — in biology
  5. press — newspapers
  6. season — of the year
  7. ground — the earth
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. mug — a cup
  10. ground — a position
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. press — to push
  14. season — in sport
  15. cell — a phone
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — to grow
  18. clip — a video
  19. ground — crushed
  20. mug — a face
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. press — a publisher
  23. mug — to rob
  24. season — to add flavour

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