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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bear — the animal
  4. press — to push
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bark — to shout
  10. press — a publisher
  11. bat — the animal
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. clip — for paper
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. press — newspapers
  19. clip — a video
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. stem — to come from
  22. wound — an injury
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. stem — of a plant

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