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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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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: fall · wind · drill · wake · press · clip · arm · lean

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. clip — to cut
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. press — to push
  5. press — a publisher
  6. lean — thin
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. drill — army training
  9. clip — a video
  10. press — newspapers
  11. clip — for paper
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. lean — to bend
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. drill — the tool
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. fall — the season
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. wake — a trail

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