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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. press — to push
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — of a river
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. shower — rain
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. press — newspapers
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pass — a permit
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. press — a publisher
  20. clip — a video
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bank — for money
  23. clip — to cut
  24. mouse — 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