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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. press — to push
  3. present — there
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rest — a break
  7. clip — for paper
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. press — newspapers
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — the time now
  13. press — a publisher
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. rest — what's left
  19. chair — a leader
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. sharp — clever
  24. trunk — of a tree

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