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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
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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: mate · scale · game · press · bowl · pitch · kid · clip

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. kid — to tease
  4. press — newspapers
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. game — a match
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. mate — to breed
  12. game — wild animals
  13. kid — child
  14. press — a publisher
  15. scale — size or range
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. clip — to cut
  19. scale — in music
  20. clip — a video
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. mate — a friend
  23. pitch — completely
  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