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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. press — to push
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. craft — boats
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. club — for dancing
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — to cut
  9. face — to point toward
  10. club — for golf
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. face — part of the head
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. rule — a law
  15. craft — a skill
  16. press — a publisher
  17. face — to confront
  18. game — a match
  19. capital — a city
  20. clip — a video
  21. capital — money
  22. rule — government
  23. game — wild animals
  24. club — a group

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