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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 116 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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. press — to push
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. chip — to eat
  10. file — a document
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. file — a tool
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. press — newspapers
  17. band — a music group
  18. land — a country
  19. board — a committee
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. board — to get on
  22. file — a line of people
  23. band — a ring
  24. racket — a loud noise

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