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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 120 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
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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: fall · spell · scale · press · clip · game · track · swing

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. press — newspapers
  3. fall — to drop
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — in music
  6. spell — magic
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — to cut
  9. game — a match
  10. spell — letters
  11. swing — to play on
  12. game — wild animals
  13. spell — a short time
  14. swing — music
  15. clip — for paper
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. track — a path
  19. track — to keep track
  20. fall — the season
  21. press — a publisher
  22. track — a song
  23. fall — to drop
  24. swing — in golf

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