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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. press — to push
  6. clip — a video
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. file — a document
  9. press — a publisher
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. saw — the tool
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. file — a line of people
  14. hand — help
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. hand — in cards
  18. clip — to cut
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. clip — for paper
  22. file — a tool
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. pitch — completely

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