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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. ball — a great time
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. board — a committee
  5. clip — a video
  6. net — in sport
  7. clip — to cut
  8. mug — a cup
  9. capital — money
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. board — to get on
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. press — to push
  14. press — newspapers
  15. press — a publisher
  16. ball — a dance
  17. capital — a city
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. net — after costs
  20. clip — for paper
  21. net — for catching
  22. mug — to rob
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. capital — a big letter

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