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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: press · wound · object · swing · clip · rule

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — a thing
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. press — a publisher
  6. wound — an injury
  7. press — to push
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. swing — music
  10. object — an aim
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rule — government
  13. swing — to play on
  14. clip — for paper
  15. press — newspapers
  16. swing — in golf
  17. clip — a video
  18. rule — a law

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