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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. press — a publisher
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. press — to push
  6. press — newspapers
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bank — for money
  9. craft — a skill
  10. clip — a video
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bank — for money
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. craft — boats
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bat — the animal
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — happy
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pit — in a race
  24. squash — to crush

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