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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  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. press — to push
  2. root — the cause
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bear — the animal
  5. root — of a word
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. wound — an injury
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. root — of a plant
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. press — newspapers
  15. wound — an injury
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. clip — a video
  22. press — a publisher
  23. bear — the animal
  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