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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 124 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. clip — a video
  3. file — a line of people
  4. press — to push
  5. file — a tool
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. pass — a permit
  10. kick — in football
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — of water
  14. clip — to cut
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. press — newspapers
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. clip — for paper
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. press — a publisher
  24. file — a document

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