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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: press · key · calf · clip · bound · ground · toast · club

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. press — to push
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — for dancing
  5. key — in music
  6. clip — for paper
  7. ground — a position
  8. bound — obliged
  9. ground — the earth
  10. clip — to cut
  11. toast — bread
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. clip — a video
  15. press — a publisher
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bound — tied together
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. key — for a lock
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bound — certain
  22. key — the most important part
  23. club — a group
  24. ground — crushed

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