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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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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: board · mine · coach · lean · clip · deal · spell · press

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. clip — for paper
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. press — to push
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. board — a committee
  7. board — to get on
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — for digging
  10. spell — a short time
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. lean — thin
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. press — a publisher
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. lean — to bend
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. spell — magic
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. spell — letters
  24. press — newspapers

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