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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. content — the amount
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. press — to push
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. clip — a video
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. press — a publisher
  13. clip — to cut
  14. season — in sport
  15. press — newspapers
  16. season — of the year
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. clip — for paper
  22. band — a music group
  23. vault — a safe
  24. content — happy

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