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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. bear — the animal
  3. press — a publisher
  4. shower — to wash
  5. pitch — completely
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cell — in biology
  8. spell — a short time
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bear — the animal
  11. spell — letters
  12. clip — a video
  13. press — newspapers
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. clip — for paper
  19. snap — to click
  20. press — to push
  21. cell — a phone
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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