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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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. clip — to cut
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. press — to push
  5. ball — a dance
  6. object — a thing
  7. ball — a great time
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — for paper
  10. hand — in cards
  11. pitch — completely
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. object — to protest
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. press — newspapers
  17. perch — the fish
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. press — a publisher
  22. object — an aim
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bark — to shout

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