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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bass — low music
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bass — the fish
  7. press — a publisher
  8. firm — a company
  9. clip — a video
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. wound — an injury
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. press — newspapers
  15. press — to push
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. firm — decided
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. wind — moving air
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wound — an injury
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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