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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. press — newspapers
  3. kid — to tease
  4. season — of the year
  5. present — a gift
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. press — to push
  8. swing — music
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. swing — in golf
  11. rash — hasty
  12. clip — to cut
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. vault — a safe
  16. season — in sport
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — there
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — a series
  21. press — a publisher
  22. kid — child
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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