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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 116 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  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. lean — to rest against
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. season — in sport
  4. lean — thin
  5. season — of the year
  6. dip — to sink
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. clip — for paper
  11. press — a publisher
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. clip — a video
  16. lean — to bend
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. press — newspapers
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. press — to push
  23. mine — for digging
  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