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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: press · pitcher · stand · craft · date · clip · cold · deal

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. deal — to handle
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. press — to push
  5. craft — boats
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. date — the fruit
  11. press — newspapers
  12. clip — a video
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. craft — a skill
  18. stand — to bear
  19. cold — not warm
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. press — a publisher
  23. clip — to cut
  24. cold — the Cold War

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