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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 · rock · kid · mug · spring · game · clip · board

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — a stone
  3. kid — to tease
  4. clip — for paper
  5. mug — to rob
  6. mug — a face
  7. board — to get on
  8. spring — of water
  9. kid — child
  10. press — newspapers
  11. mug — a cup
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. press — to push
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. press — a publisher
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. spring — a coil
  20. game — wild animals
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. board — a committee
  23. spring — the season
  24. game — a match

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