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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: clip · kick · bat · season · press · last · content · arm

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. season — in sport
  3. press — a publisher
  4. last — finally
  5. bat — the animal
  6. kick — in football
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. press — newspapers
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. clip — for paper
  11. last — to go on
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. season — of the year
  15. content — the amount
  16. clip — a video
  17. last — final
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — happy
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. press — to push
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. arm — part of the body

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