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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. row — a line
  5. fall — to drop
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bulb — for light
  8. plane — a tool
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. fall — the season
  11. press — a publisher
  12. clip — a video
  13. press — to push
  14. rash — hasty
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. press — newspapers
  20. rash — a series
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. plane — an aircraft

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