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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 124 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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. club — for dancing
  3. fork — in a road
  4. clip — a video
  5. march — the month
  6. club — a group
  7. press — to push
  8. press — a publisher
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. press — newspapers
  12. chair — a leader
  13. rock — a stone
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. cap — a lid
  16. club — for golf
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. rock — music
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. cap — a hat

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