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

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. game — a match
  3. press — newspapers
  4. clip — a video
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. clip — to cut
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. press — a publisher
  11. rush — hurry
  12. press — to push
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — low music
  16. ball — a dance
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. game — wild animals

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