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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. net — in sport
  3. press — to push
  4. clip — for paper
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. roll — a cake
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a ring
  9. key — in music
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. squash — the sport
  12. clip — to cut
  13. net — for catching
  14. squash — to crush
  15. clip — a video
  16. net — after costs
  17. key — the most important part
  18. press — newspapers
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. dip — to sink
  21. band — a music group
  22. key — for a lock
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. roll — a list

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