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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.

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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 · tube · foot · object · face · spring · clip · pass

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. tube — the underground
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. face — part of the head
  5. spring — a coil
  6. pass — a permit
  7. face — to confront
  8. spring — of water
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. clip — a video
  11. press — to push
  12. clip — for paper
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. face — to point toward
  15. tube — a container
  16. press — newspapers
  17. spring — the season
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. object — to protest
  21. clip — to cut
  22. foot — a measure
  23. press — a publisher
  24. object — a thing

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