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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. face — to point toward
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bear — the animal
  6. press — to push
  7. face — to confront
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. press — newspapers
  12. face — part of the head
  13. field — a subject
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — for sport
  17. stand — to bear
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. press — a publisher

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