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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. press — a publisher
  3. last — final
  4. ground — crushed
  5. clip — to cut
  6. press — newspapers
  7. roll — a cake
  8. last — finally
  9. clip — a video
  10. content — happy
  11. band — a ring
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. roll — a list
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. ground — the earth
  16. press — to push
  17. clip — for paper
  18. ground — a position
  19. last — to go on
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. band — a music group
  22. content — the amount
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. band — a rubber band

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