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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. press — a publisher
  3. press — newspapers
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. clip — a video
  7. band — a music group
  8. bound — certain
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. clip — for paper
  11. press — to push
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bound — obliged
  18. band — a ring
  19. bound — tied together
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. pound — a weight
  22. ball — a great time
  23. mark — a grade
  24. mark — a trace

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