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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 116 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. club — for golf
  3. press — to push
  4. current — of water
  5. club — a group
  6. clip — a video
  7. land — ground
  8. current — electric
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. clip — for paper
  11. current — happening now
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. club — for dancing
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — newspapers
  17. prune — to trim
  18. clip — to cut
  19. land — to come down
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. march — the month
  22. prune — to trim
  23. march — music
  24. land — a country

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