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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. season — in sport
  3. game — wild animals
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. press — to push
  6. clip — a video
  7. mate — to breed
  8. clip — for paper
  9. season — of the year
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mate — a partner
  13. game — a match
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wax — to grow
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — newspapers
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. game — a kind of play

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