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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. spring — of water
  3. clip — to cut
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. clip — for paper
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. drill — the tool
  10. press — newspapers
  11. spring — the season
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. drill — a practice
  14. spring — a coil
  15. press — a publisher
  16. drill — army training
  17. chip — to eat
  18. bear — the animal
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. bear — the animal
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. chip — for betting
  23. clip — a video
  24. trunk — of a car

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