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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. clip — a video
  3. present — a gift
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. board — a committee
  10. press — to push
  11. last — finally
  12. board — to get on
  13. land — a country
  14. last — to go on
  15. present — the time now
  16. land — ground
  17. clip — for paper
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. present — there
  21. press — newspapers
  22. clip — to cut
  23. press — a publisher
  24. last — final

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