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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. press — newspapers
  5. staff — employees
  6. press — a publisher
  7. spring — of water
  8. perch — the fish
  9. staff — employees
  10. ground — a position
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — to cut
  13. ground — crushed
  14. season — of the year
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. spring — a coil
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. board — to get on
  19. clip — a video
  20. season — in sport
  21. ground — the earth
  22. board — a committee
  23. press — to push
  24. spring — the season

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