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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 120 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. band — a music group
  3. tube — the underground
  4. rule — a law
  5. rock — music
  6. press — a publisher
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. clip — a video
  9. swing — music
  10. rule — government
  11. row — to paddle
  12. clip — to cut
  13. band — a ring
  14. press — newspapers
  15. clip — for paper
  16. swing — in golf
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. press — to push
  21. rock — a stone
  22. swing — to play on
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — in a tire

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