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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  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. wave — with your hand
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. press — a publisher
  4. rash — hasty
  5. press — newspapers
  6. clip — for paper
  7. band — a ring
  8. deal — to handle
  9. clip — to cut
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. press — to push
  12. band — a music group
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. row — a line
  15. ball — a dance
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. ball — a great time
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. row — to paddle
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. rash — a series
  23. wave — of the sea
  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