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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. clip — for paper
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. press — a publisher
  5. mark — a trace
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. spell — letters
  8. stem — to come from
  9. press — newspapers
  10. mate — to breed
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. clip — to cut
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. spell — magic
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. mate — a partner
  17. clip — a video
  18. spell — a short time
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. mark — a grade
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mate — a friend
  24. snap — to click

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