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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. craft — boats
  6. craft — a skill
  7. pop — music
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. press — a publisher
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. clip — for paper
  12. press — to push
  13. press — newspapers
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. season — of the year
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. root — of a word
  20. season — in sport
  21. root — of a plant
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pop — soda
  24. root — the cause

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