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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. press — to push
  3. clip — to cut
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. last — final
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. press — newspapers
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. fork — in a road
  14. mine — for digging
  15. last — finally
  16. branch — a division
  17. last — to go on
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. clip — for paper
  20. press — a publisher
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. clip — a video
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. branch — of a bank

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