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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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Word bank
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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. lean — to bend
  4. clip — for paper
  5. saw — the tool
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. lean — thin
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. press — newspapers
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wound — an injury
  12. clip — a video
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pass — a permit
  16. press — a publisher
  17. clip — to cut
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. cold — an illness
  20. saw — the tool
  21. cold — not warm
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. pass — to succeed

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