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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. band — a ring
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — size or range
  5. band — a music group
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — in cards
  8. press — newspapers
  9. field — a subject
  10. scale — in music
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. clip — for paper
  13. field — for sport
  14. press — a publisher
  15. object — a thing
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. bulb — for light
  19. object — an aim
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. field — farmland
  22. object — to protest
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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