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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bound — tied together
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. mark — a grade
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — a subject
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. bear — the animal
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. clip — to cut
  11. press — to push
  12. press — a publisher
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. press — newspapers
  15. mark — a trace
  16. bound — obliged
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. clip — a video
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. bound — certain
  24. field — for sport

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