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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: press · clip · saw · bat · game · rock

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. clip — for paper
  3. rock — music
  4. press — a publisher
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. rock — a stone
  7. saw — the tool
  8. press — to push
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. game — a match
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. clip — a video
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. game — wild animals
  16. press — newspapers
  17. bat — the animal
  18. clip — to cut

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