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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 120 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: arm · press · race · stock · hide · clip · shower · saw

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. shower — to wash
  4. press — newspapers
  5. race — a contest
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. shower — rain
  8. saw — the tool
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. press — to push
  11. stock — shares
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — the arms race
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. saw — the tool
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. press — a publisher
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. stock — goods
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. clip — to cut

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