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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.

Make a worksheet

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

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. lean — thin
  3. press — a publisher
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. game — a match
  8. charge — in control
  9. club — for golf
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. game — wild animals
  12. charge — a price
  13. clip — for paper
  14. lean — to bend
  15. club — a group
  16. charge — electricity
  17. club — for dancing
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. clip — a video
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. press — newspapers
  22. clip — to cut
  23. wind — moving air
  24. game — a kind of play

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