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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. mug — a cup
  3. capital — a city
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. press — a publisher
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. mug — a face
  9. kid — child
  10. press — to push
  11. mug — to rob
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. kid — to tease
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — music
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. swing — in golf
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. land — a country
  24. clip — for paper

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