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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. club — for dancing
  3. current — electric
  4. pitch — completely
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. press — a publisher
  9. clip — to cut
  10. club — a group
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. press — newspapers
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. current — happening now
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. press — to push
  18. current — of water
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. clip — a video
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. club — for golf

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