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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 function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. fall — the season
  5. court — of a king
  6. chip — to eat
  7. clip — for paper
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. clip — to cut
  10. drill — army training
  11. press — to push
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. clip — a video
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. press — a publisher
  17. court — of law
  18. band — a music group
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — the tool
  21. court — for sport
  22. deal — to handle
  23. chip — for betting
  24. chip — in a computer

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