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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bat — the animal
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. bound — obliged
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bound — certain
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. mug — a cup
  15. press — to push
  16. press — a publisher
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mug — to rob
  19. row — a line
  20. mug — a face
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. press — newspapers
  23. bound — tied together
  24. clip — a video

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