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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bank — of a river
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. wound — an injury
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. wound — an injury
  9. clip — to cut
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. press — a publisher
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. clip — for paper
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. bank — for money
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. press — newspapers
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. clip — a video
  22. deal — to handle
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bank — for money

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