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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — to push
  3. club — a group
  4. clip — to cut
  5. club — for dancing
  6. cue — a signal
  7. clip — for paper
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cue — for pool
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. ground — a position
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. club — for golf
  16. press — newspapers
  17. ground — the earth
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. clip — a video
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. ground — crushed
  23. date — the fruit
  24. bowl — a football final

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