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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. game — a match
  3. scale — in music
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. press — a publisher
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. scale — size or range
  9. clip — to cut
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. clip — for paper
  15. press — to push
  16. hand — in cards
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. game — wild animals
  19. branch — a division
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. hand — help
  22. foot — a measure
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bowl — to roll

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