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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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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: straw · sharp · club · land · nail · press · season · clip

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. club — for golf
  5. clip — to cut
  6. season — in sport
  7. sharp — clever
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — a country
  10. clip — for paper
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. land — ground
  13. season — of the year
  14. press — to push
  15. club — for dancing
  16. club — a group
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. clip — a video
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. press — newspapers
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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