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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. last — final
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. press — a publisher
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. mate — a friend
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. mate — to breed
  15. clip — a video
  16. mate — a partner
  17. press — newspapers
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. last — finally
  23. press — to push
  24. last — to go on

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