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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. clip — to cut
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. wind — moving air
  6. press — a publisher
  7. rush — hurry
  8. press — newspapers
  9. game — wild animals
  10. pitch — completely
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. fine — all right
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. fine — high quality
  16. clip — a video
  17. press — to push
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. game — a match
  20. clip — for paper
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. rush — a thrill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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