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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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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: swing · board · tear · shower · clip · patient · press · rule

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. swing — in golf
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. clip — for paper
  7. tear — to rip
  8. rule — government
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — to push
  11. board — to get on
  12. swing — to play on
  13. shower — rain
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. clip — a video
  18. tear — from crying
  19. swing — music
  20. rule — a law
  21. tear — from crying
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. clip — to cut
  24. shower — to wash

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