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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. vault — a safe
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. press — to push
  6. bat — the animal
  7. clip — a video
  8. key — for a lock
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. clip — to cut
  14. key — in music
  15. tube — a container
  16. wound — an injury
  17. tube — the underground
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. key — the most important part
  21. plane — a tool
  22. clip — for paper
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. press — newspapers

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