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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. spring — a coil
  3. clip — for paper
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. press — newspapers
  7. press — to push
  8. snap — to click
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. last — final
  11. last — finally
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. spring — the season
  15. mark — a trace
  16. clip — a video
  17. rest — what's left
  18. press — a publisher
  19. rest — a break
  20. spring — of water
  21. last — to go on
  22. pitch — completely
  23. rest — what's left
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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