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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: march · spell · leaves · clip · bank · kick · press · spring

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. march — music
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. bank — for money
  6. march — the month
  7. spring — the season
  8. march — the month
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bank — of a river
  11. spell — magic
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. clip — a video
  14. press — a publisher
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spell — letters
  17. spring — of water
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. press — to push
  20. clip — to cut
  21. press — newspapers
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. bank — for money
  24. kick — in football

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