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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. swing — music
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. march — music
  6. pass — a permit
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. press — to push
  9. clip — a video
  10. spring — a coil
  11. press — a publisher
  12. club — for golf
  13. swing — to play on
  14. press — newspapers
  15. clip — to cut
  16. club — a group
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. march — the month
  19. swing — in golf
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. march — the month
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. clip — for paper

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