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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: clip · wind · saw · press · sharp · bank · staff · spring

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. clip — a video
  3. staff — a stick
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bank — for money
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. press — newspapers
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bank — of a river
  11. clip — for paper
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. saw — the tool
  14. clip — to cut
  15. spring — a coil
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. press — a publisher
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. sharp — clever
  20. press — to push
  21. spring — of water
  22. bank — for money
  23. spring — the season
  24. staff — employees

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