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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. clip — for paper
  3. vault — a safe
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. land — a country
  7. capital — a city
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. pop — soda
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. clip — a video
  13. press — to push
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. press — a publisher
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. clip — to cut
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pop — music
  22. capital — money
  23. land — ground
  24. press — newspapers

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