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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.

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: chest · press · hide · fork · lean · clip · season · hand

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. lean — to bend
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. press — a publisher
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. season — of the year
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — to push
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. season — in sport
  12. chest — of your body
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. clip — to cut
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. lean — thin
  19. chest — a box
  20. clip — for paper
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hand — help
  24. clip — a video

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