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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  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. rush — hurry
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cell — in biology
  4. spring — the season
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — a video
  7. rash — a series
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. cell — a phone
  12. spring — a coil
  13. rash — hasty
  14. press — a publisher
  15. press — to push
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — to recline
  23. spring — of water
  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