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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. hand — help
  3. clip — for paper
  4. swing — music
  5. press — to push
  6. clip — a video
  7. hand — in cards
  8. spell — a short time
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. plane — a tool
  11. press — a publisher
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. swing — to play on
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. spell — magic
  19. staff — employees
  20. spell — letters
  21. staff — a stick
  22. swing — in golf
  23. press — newspapers
  24. staff — employees

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