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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. season — in sport
  4. clip — for paper
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. press — newspapers
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. press — to push
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. track — a path
  11. track — a song
  12. press — a publisher
  13. pop — soda
  14. dip — to sink
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. season — of the year
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. track — to keep track
  19. stem — to come from
  20. clip — a video
  21. pop — to visit
  22. bark — to shout
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. pop — music

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