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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 116 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: club · deal · press · lie · wave · mouse · clip · game

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. press — a publisher
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. club — a group
  5. game — a match
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. game — wild animals
  9. lie — to recline
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. clip — for paper
  13. club — for golf
  14. press — to push
  15. clip — a video
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. clip — to cut
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. club — for dancing
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. press — newspapers
  24. deal — to handle

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