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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. press — newspapers
  7. last — to go on
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. press — a publisher
  10. mate — a partner
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. clip — a video
  13. press — to push
  14. bat — the animal
  15. mate — to breed
  16. last — finally
  17. clip — for paper
  18. last — final
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. clip — to cut
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. snap — to click

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