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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. land — ground
  3. press — newspapers
  4. spell — magic
  5. clip — a video
  6. hand — in cards
  7. press — to push
  8. tear — from crying
  9. press — a publisher
  10. track — a path
  11. tear — from crying
  12. spell — letters
  13. tear — to rip
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wake — a trail
  16. track — to keep track
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. land — a country
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. spell — a short time
  22. land — to come down
  23. track — a song
  24. hand — help

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