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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. clip — to cut
  4. spell — a short time
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. clip — a video
  7. press — a publisher
  8. swing — in golf
  9. spell — magic
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. press — newspapers
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. spell — letters
  14. clip — for paper
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. snap — to click
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. swing — music
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. swing — to play on
  24. lie — to recline

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