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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. track — a song
  2. press — a publisher
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. pass — a permit
  7. press — to push
  8. wake — a trail
  9. firm — a company
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. clip — a video
  12. band — a music group
  13. bat — the animal
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. band — a ring
  16. track — to keep track
  17. press — newspapers
  18. firm — decided
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. track — a path
  21. clip — to cut
  22. firm — steady
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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