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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. press — newspapers
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — a video
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. capital — a city
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. clip — for paper
  12. capital — money
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. press — to push
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. press — a publisher

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