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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: toast · court · season · hide · band · clip · press · fine

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. clip — a video
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. press — to push
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. clip — to cut
  7. court — for sport
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — in sport
  10. press — a publisher
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. band — a ring
  13. fine — all right
  14. toast — bread
  15. court — of a king
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. press — newspapers
  18. court — of law
  19. band — a music group
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. clip — for paper
  22. season — of the year
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. fine — high quality

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