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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. press — a publisher
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. game — a match
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. press — to push
  7. present — a gift
  8. present — there
  9. present — the time now
  10. spring — of water
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. prune — to trim
  15. clip — for paper
  16. spring — the season
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. clip — a video
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. press — newspapers
  21. game — wild animals
  22. clip — to cut
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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