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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. press — a publisher
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. clip — a video
  11. saw — the tool
  12. press — to push
  13. clip — for paper
  14. press — newspapers
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. drill — army training
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. drill — the tool
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. saw — the tool
  23. drill — a practice
  24. bat — the animal

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