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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 120 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: ground · clip · press · leaves · mark · wave · row · game

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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. row — a quarrel
  4. press — a publisher
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. clip — for paper
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. ground — crushed
  12. game — wild animals
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. mark — a trace
  17. ground — a position
  18. mark — a grade
  19. press — to push
  20. clip — to cut
  21. row — a line
  22. row — to paddle
  23. press — newspapers
  24. ground — the earth

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