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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 120 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rock — music
  4. march — music
  5. clip — a video
  6. march — the month
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rock — a stone
  10. ground — crushed
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. march — the month
  13. press — newspapers
  14. tube — a container
  15. ground — a position
  16. chair — a leader
  17. lean — to bend
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. press — to push
  20. clip — to cut
  21. lean — thin
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. tube — the underground
  24. ground — the earth

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