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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. tear — from crying
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mark — a trace
  6. clip — a video
  7. mark — a grade
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. clip — for paper
  10. tear — to rip
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. press — to push
  13. press — a publisher
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — in music
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. press — newspapers
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. scale — size or range
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. tear — from crying

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