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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.

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: press · coach · pit · tear · patient · squash · bound · clip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. press — to push
  4. clip — for paper
  5. tear — to rip
  6. squash — the sport
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. squash — to crush
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bound — obliged
  13. tear — from crying
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bound — certain
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. pit — in a race
  19. press — a publisher
  20. clip — a video
  21. pit — a hole
  22. bound — tied together
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. press — newspapers

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