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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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. scale — size or range
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a friend
  5. press — a publisher
  6. scale — in music
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — in sport
  12. last — final
  13. season — of the year
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mate — a partner
  16. clip — to cut
  17. press — to push
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — finally
  23. press — newspapers
  24. clip — a video

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