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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. press — a publisher
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — for paper
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. press — to push
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fork — in a road
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — final
  14. bark — to shout
  15. last — finally
  16. clip — to cut
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. club — for golf
  21. press — newspapers
  22. club — a group
  23. snap — to click
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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