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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. press — a publisher
  7. saw — the tool
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. clip — for paper
  10. saw — the tool
  11. staff — employees
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. clip — a video
  16. staff — a stick
  17. staff — employees
  18. press — to push
  19. wound — an injury
  20. press — newspapers
  21. clip — to cut
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. fork — in a road
  24. wound — an injury

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