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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. clip — a video
  3. bat — the animal
  4. swing — to play on
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. cap — a lid
  9. press — a publisher
  10. lie — to recline
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. press — newspapers
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cap — a hat
  15. swing — music
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. band — a music group
  18. cap — of ice
  19. clip — for paper
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. press — to push
  22. band — a ring
  23. swing — in golf
  24. clip — to cut

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