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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. season — of the year
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. key — in music
  5. key — for a lock
  6. season — in sport
  7. bass — low music
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. spring — a coil
  10. dip — to sink
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. spring — the season
  13. key — the most important part
  14. press — newspapers
  15. spring — of water
  16. bass — the fish
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. press — to push
  21. press — a publisher
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — to cut
  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