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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kick · content · field · clip · pop · band · press · fine

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. content — the amount
  3. field — a subject
  4. fine — high quality
  5. press — a publisher
  6. clip — for paper
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. content — happy
  9. pop — music
  10. band — a ring
  11. clip — a video
  12. press — newspapers
  13. press — to push
  14. field — farmland
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. field — for sport
  17. pop — to visit
  18. fine — all right
  19. band — a music group
  20. clip — to cut
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. kick — in football
  24. content — videos and posts

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