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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. press — to push
  3. rash — hasty
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — of ice
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. march — music
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. press — a publisher
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. march — the month
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. clip — for paper
  19. rash — a series
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. cap — a lid
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. press — newspapers
  24. march — the month

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