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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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. bound — obliged
  4. scale — size or range
  5. pop — music
  6. bound — tied together
  7. pop — soda
  8. can — a tin
  9. clip — for paper
  10. press — newspapers
  11. pop — to visit
  12. bound — certain
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. can — a tin
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. clip — to cut
  17. press — to push
  18. can — to be able to
  19. clip — a video
  20. press — a publisher
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. lie — to recline
  24. scale — in music

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