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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. cap — a hat
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cap — a lid
  8. clip — to cut
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. press — a publisher
  11. lean — to bend
  12. lean — thin
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. spell — magic
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. clip — a video
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. press — to push
  19. press — newspapers
  20. cap — of ice
  21. clip — for paper
  22. spell — letters
  23. fork — in a road
  24. spell — a short time

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