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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. clip — a video
  3. bat — the animal
  4. dip — to sink
  5. cold — an illness
  6. clip — to cut
  7. press — a publisher
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. firm — decided
  11. firm — steady
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. press — to push
  15. press — newspapers
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rest — a break
  19. cold — not warm
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rest — what's left
  23. firm — a company
  24. foot — a measure

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