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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. clip — to cut
  3. stock — shares
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. swing — to play on
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — to push
  12. swing — in golf
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. spring — the season
  17. clip — a video
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. spring — a coil
  20. ball — a dance
  21. stock — goods
  22. swing — music
  23. clip — for paper
  24. spring — of water

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