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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. last — to go on
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. press — a publisher
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — to push
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. last — finally
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. wound — an injury
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. clip — a video
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. wound — an injury
  24. last — final

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