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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 · clip · rush · press · wind · straw · swing · net

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. swing — in golf
  3. clip — a video
  4. wind — moving air
  5. press — newspapers
  6. swing — music
  7. net — for catching
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. swing — to play on
  10. wind — moving air
  11. press — to push
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. net — after costs
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. game — a match
  19. game — wild animals
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. rush — hurry
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. net — in sport
  24. rush — to hurry

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