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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: game · saw · cue · staff · ground · branch · clip · press

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. ground — crushed
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. press — a publisher
  6. staff — employees
  7. game — a match
  8. branch — a division
  9. staff — a stick
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. ground — the earth
  13. cue — a signal
  14. saw — the tool
  15. ground — a position
  16. cue — a hint
  17. clip — for paper
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. press — newspapers
  20. cue — for pool
  21. press — to push
  22. staff — employees
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a kind of play

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