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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. clip — a video
  3. press — a publisher
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. net — in sport
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. press — newspapers
  9. mark — a grade
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. press — to push
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. mark — a trace
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. capital — a city
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — after costs

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