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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 116 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: press · clip · tube · file · bat · ground · stick · perch

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. file — a line of people
  7. ground — a position
  8. press — a publisher
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. tube — the underground
  11. file — a tool
  12. tube — a container
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. file — a document
  16. clip — to cut
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. press — newspapers
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. press — to push

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