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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. band — a ring
  3. last — final
  4. press — to push
  5. wound — an injury
  6. press — newspapers
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. current — electric
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. current — of water
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. current — happening now
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. last — finally
  19. last — to go on
  20. press — a publisher
  21. wound — an injury
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. band — a music group
  24. march — the month

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