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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 116 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fall — the season
  5. bank — of a river
  6. bank — for money
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. fall — to drop
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. file — a document
  12. wound — an injury
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bank — for money
  15. press — newspapers
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. dip — to sink
  19. fall — to drop
  20. press — to push
  21. clip — a video
  22. press — a publisher
  23. file — a tool
  24. clip — to cut

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