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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. press — newspapers
  3. clip — for paper
  4. deal — to handle
  5. mark — a grade
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — a video
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. game — wild animals
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. ground — crushed
  13. press — to push
  14. hand — help
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. hand — in cards
  19. mark — a trace
  20. press — a publisher
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. ground — the earth

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