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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cold — not warm
  5. can — a tin
  6. press — a publisher
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. file — a document
  9. clip — a video
  10. can — to be able to
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. press — to push
  14. file — a line of people
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. branch — a division
  19. press — newspapers
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. clip — for paper
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. file — a tool
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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