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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. press — to push
  4. pass — a permit
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. net — in sport
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a line of people
  12. season — of the year
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. clip — for paper
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. net — for catching
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. press — newspapers
  19. season — in sport
  20. file — a tool
  21. press — a publisher
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. net — after costs
  24. clip — a video

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