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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. season — in sport
  5. craft — boats
  6. court — of law
  7. press — to push
  8. press — a publisher
  9. face — to point toward
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. press — newspapers
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. court — for sport
  16. season — of the year
  17. pass — a permit
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. court — of a king
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — part of the head
  24. sharp — clever

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