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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. clip — for paper
  3. spell — letters
  4. chair — a leader
  5. pop — to visit
  6. spell — a short time
  7. cold — an illness
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — to push
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. spell — magic
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pop — music
  15. press — newspapers
  16. club — a group
  17. clip — a video
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. pop — soda
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. club — for dancing
  22. cold — not warm
  23. clip — to cut
  24. club — for golf

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