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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: foot · bound · staff · lash · clip · season · scale · press

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — in sport
  3. staff — a stick
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. press — newspapers
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. clip — to cut
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. press — to push
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. scale — in music
  12. bound — tied together
  13. clip — for paper
  14. press — a publisher
  15. foot — a measure
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. scale — size or range
  20. clip — a video
  21. bound — certain
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. bound — obliged
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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