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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. firm — steady
  3. shower — to wash
  4. firm — a company
  5. content — the amount
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. prune — to trim
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — to push
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a music group
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. clip — a video
  15. cell — a phone
  16. press — a publisher
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. clip — for paper
  19. cell — in biology
  20. prune — to trim
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. firm — decided
  23. content — happy
  24. shower — rain

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