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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: chip · net · press · clip · court · bass · rest · prune

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. net — for catching
  4. clip — for paper
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rest — a break
  7. clip — a video
  8. rest — what's left
  9. net — after costs
  10. bass — the fish
  11. clip — to cut
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. press — to push
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. prune — to trim
  16. court — of a king
  17. press — a publisher
  18. bass — low music
  19. chip — for betting
  20. court — for sport
  21. press — newspapers
  22. court — of law
  23. rest — what's left
  24. chip — to eat

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