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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: bass · tear · ground · stock · plane · hide · press · clip

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  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. press — to push
  2. clip — a video
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. stock — goods
  5. clip — for paper
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. ground — a position
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bass — low music
  13. tear — from crying
  14. press — a publisher
  15. ground — crushed
  16. stock — shares
  17. clip — to cut
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. bass — the fish
  20. ground — the earth
  21. plane — a tool
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. bass — the instrument
  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