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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. clip — to cut
  3. rest — what's left
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. mate — to breed
  6. press — to push
  7. net — for catching
  8. clip — a video
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. net — after costs
  11. mate — a partner
  12. roll — a list
  13. rest — what's left
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mate — a friend
  16. press — newspapers
  17. rash — hasty
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. rest — a break
  20. net — in sport
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. roll — a cake
  24. rash — a series

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