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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  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. bat — the animal
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. key — for a lock
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. key — the most important part
  7. clip — to cut
  8. press — to push
  9. club — for golf
  10. clip — a video
  11. club — for dancing
  12. bass — low music
  13. press — a publisher
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. bass — the fish
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. kick — in football
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. key — in music
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. press — newspapers
  23. club — a group
  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