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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. press — newspapers
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. tear — from crying
  8. press — a publisher
  9. tear — to rip
  10. clip — a video
  11. drill — a practice
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — army training
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pitch — completely
  19. bat — the animal
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. press — to push
  24. bat — in an idiom

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