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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: object · leaves · hand · row · arm · press · clip · march

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. hand — in cards
  3. press — to push
  4. object — a thing
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. march — the month
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. press — newspapers
  12. press — a publisher
  13. row — a line
  14. hand — help
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. row — to paddle
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. march — music
  19. object — to protest
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. clip — to cut
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. march — the month

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