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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  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. board — to get on
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. ball — a dance
  6. scale — size or range
  7. press — to push
  8. press — a publisher
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. clip — for paper
  11. staff — employees
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. press — newspapers
  17. ball — a great time
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — in sport
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  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