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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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. face — to confront
  3. key — the most important part
  4. object — to protest
  5. clip — a video
  6. press — to push
  7. clip — to cut
  8. press — newspapers
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. face — to point toward
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. face — part of the head
  13. object — a thing
  14. press — a publisher
  15. object — an aim
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. key — for a lock
  18. content — the amount
  19. prune — to trim
  20. content — happy
  21. clip — for paper
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. prune — to trim
  24. key — in music

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