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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. hand — help
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. press — newspapers
  8. bear — the animal
  9. press — a publisher
  10. lean — thin
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to click
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. press — to push
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. clip — to cut
  17. rule — government
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. rule — a law
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bear — the animal
  24. clip — a video

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