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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — a group
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. ball — a dance
  7. lie — to recline
  8. degree — an amount
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. scale — in music
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. press — newspapers
  14. club — for dancing
  15. clip — to cut
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. clip — for paper
  18. scale — size or range
  19. ball — a great time
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — from a university
  23. clip — a video
  24. press — to push

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