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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. can — to be able to
  3. lean — to bend
  4. can — a tin
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. press — to push
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. clip — to cut
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. ground — a position
  12. lean — thin
  13. clip — a video
  14. can — a tin
  15. wind — moving air
  16. clip — for paper
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ball — a great time
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ground — crushed
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. ground — the earth
  24. press — newspapers

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