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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. court — of law
  3. roll — a list
  4. clip — to cut
  5. press — newspapers
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. present — a gift
  8. ground — a position
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. court — for sport
  12. net — in sport
  13. present — the time now
  14. press — a publisher
  15. ground — the earth
  16. clip — a video
  17. roll — a cake
  18. court — of a king
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. press — to push
  21. ground — crushed
  22. clip — for paper
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — for catching

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