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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. clip — a video
  3. swing — to play on
  4. press — to push
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. swing — music
  7. press — a publisher
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. fine — high quality
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bore — to tire
  12. roll — a list
  13. bore — to drill
  14. capital — a city
  15. press — newspapers
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. roll — a cake
  18. capital — money
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. swing — in golf
  22. fine — all right
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. clip — for paper

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