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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. saw — the tool
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. mark — a trace
  5. clip — for paper
  6. band — a ring
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. last — to go on
  9. mark — a grade
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. press — to push
  12. lie — to recline
  13. saw — the tool
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. last — final
  16. press — newspapers
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. press — a publisher
  19. clip — a video
  20. last — finally
  21. band — a music group
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. clip — to cut

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