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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: row · rest · clip · plane · content · wound · lean · press

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. content — happy
  3. wound — an injury
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. rest — what's left
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. rest — a break
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — to push
  10. clip — for paper
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. rest — what's left
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. clip — a video
  15. plane — a tool
  16. clip — to cut
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. lean — to bend
  20. lean — thin
  21. row — to paddle
  22. press — a publisher
  23. row — a line
  24. content — the amount

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