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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: rock · pop · clip · press · game · leaves · cold · fall

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. clip — for paper
  4. cold — not warm
  5. press — to push
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. game — a match
  10. press — a publisher
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — music
  13. rock — music
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. fall — the season
  17. rock — a stone
  18. fall — to drop
  19. clip — a video
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. clip — to cut
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. pop — to visit

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