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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — the underground
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. pop — music
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — to cut
  8. press — to push
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — a trail
  14. clip — a video
  15. bat — the animal
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. press — a publisher
  18. tube — a container
  19. press — newspapers
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — to visit
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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