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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: straw · coach · leaves · spell · clip · file · stand · press

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. press — to push
  3. spell — magic
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. clip — a video
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. spell — letters
  15. stand — to bear
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. clip — for paper
  19. press — newspapers
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. file — a tool
  24. press — a publisher

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