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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: fine · press · fall · key · clip · field · hand · court

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. fall — to drop
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. press — newspapers
  5. press — a publisher
  6. fall — the season
  7. field — a subject
  8. hand — in cards
  9. court — of law
  10. clip — for paper
  11. field — for sport
  12. press — to push
  13. fine — high quality
  14. court — for sport
  15. clip — a video
  16. key — in music
  17. key — the most important part
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. court — of a king
  21. fine — all right
  22. key — for a lock
  23. hand — help
  24. field — farmland

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