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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. game — a match
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. wind — moving air
  7. clip — to cut
  8. scale — size or range
  9. saw — the tool
  10. clip — a video
  11. press — to push
  12. press — a publisher
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. can — to be able to
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. press — newspapers
  18. wind — moving air
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. scale — in music
  21. saw — the tool
  22. can — a tin
  23. clip — for paper
  24. can — a tin

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