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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. clip — a video
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. press — to push
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. cap — a hat
  9. hand — help
  10. rush — hurry
  11. race — the arms race
  12. hand — in cards
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. press — a publisher
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. press — newspapers
  18. cap — a lid
  19. race — humankind
  20. cap — of ice
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. race — a contest

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