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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  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. press — to push
  3. race — the arms race
  4. spell — magic
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. race — humankind
  8. swing — to play on
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. press — a publisher
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. spell — letters
  13. race — a contest
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. swing — music
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. press — newspapers
  20. spell — a short time
  21. clip — a video
  22. swing — in golf
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  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