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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: clip · pound · season · wound · lash · calf · cell · press

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. press — to push
  7. pound — a weight
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — of the year
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wound — an injury
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. cell — in biology
  17. clip — to cut
  18. press — a publisher
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. press — newspapers
  21. season — in sport
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cell — a phone

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