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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bound — certain
  3. press — a publisher
  4. current — happening now
  5. mate — a partner
  6. present — the time now
  7. mate — to breed
  8. spell — magic
  9. clip — to cut
  10. present — a gift
  11. present — there
  12. clip — a video
  13. court — of a king
  14. current — of water
  15. bound — tied together
  16. court — of law
  17. current — electric
  18. spell — a short time
  19. mate — a friend
  20. clip — for paper
  21. spell — letters
  22. court — for sport
  23. bound — obliged
  24. press — newspapers

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