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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. object — a thing
  3. clip — to cut
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. mate — a partner
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. press — newspapers
  10. court — for sport
  11. object — to protest
  12. object — an aim
  13. press — to push
  14. court — of a king
  15. chair — a leader
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. mate — a friend
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. court — of law
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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