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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 is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. present — the time now
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bat — the animal
  5. current — of water
  6. lean — to bend
  7. land — a country
  8. present — a gift
  9. current — electric
  10. present — there
  11. clip — for paper
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. press — newspapers
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. press — to push
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. press — a publisher
  19. current — happening now
  20. clip — a video
  21. land — to come down
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. land — ground

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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