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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 120 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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. ground — the earth
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. ground — crushed
  5. foot — a measure
  6. current — of water
  7. last — final
  8. tear — from crying
  9. clip — a video
  10. press — to push
  11. game — a match
  12. ground — a position
  13. tear — to rip
  14. current — happening now
  15. game — wild animals
  16. last — finally
  17. current — electric
  18. press — newspapers
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. clip — to cut
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. last — to go on
  23. press — a publisher
  24. tear — from crying

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