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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. spell — letters
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. press — newspapers
  6. hand — in cards
  7. clip — a video
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. ground — the earth
  10. press — a publisher
  11. wind — moving air
  12. ground — crushed
  13. clip — to cut
  14. hand — help
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. lie — to recline
  18. spell — magic
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. ground — a position
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. spell — a short time
  24. press — to push

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