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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. march — music
  3. clip — to cut
  4. press — newspapers
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. press — a publisher
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. march — the month
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. tear — to rip
  12. march — the month
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. pitch — completely
  16. toast — bread
  17. tear — from crying
  18. clip — for paper
  19. staff — employees
  20. press — to push
  21. tear — from crying
  22. staff — a stick
  23. clip — a video
  24. pitch — a sports field

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