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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. clip — for paper
  3. toast — bread
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. press — newspapers
  7. pound — a weight
  8. net — in sport
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. clip — to cut
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. clip — a video
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. press — to push
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. net — after costs
  19. mine — for digging
  20. lean — thin
  21. lean — to bend
  22. net — for catching
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. press — a publisher

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