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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
468
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 · clip · pass · pop · prune · lash · bark · cold

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. press — newspapers
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. pop — music
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pop — to visit
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. prune — to trim
  10. press — a publisher
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. cold — not warm
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. clip — for paper
  16. prune — to trim
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pop — soda
  22. bark — to shout
  23. pass — a permit
  24. pass — to spend time

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