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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: press · march · land · pop · face · clip · staff · mate

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. land — to come down
  5. clip — a video
  6. pop — to visit
  7. press — a publisher
  8. pop — soda
  9. staff — employees
  10. land — ground
  11. press — newspapers
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. staff — a stick
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — to breed
  17. face — to confront
  18. march — music
  19. staff — employees
  20. mate — a partner
  21. face — to point toward
  22. land — a country
  23. face — part of the head
  24. press — to push

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