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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. press — a publisher
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. clip — for paper
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. mug — a face
  11. press — to push
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. board — to get on
  16. rule — government
  17. mug — to rob
  18. press — newspapers
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. mug — a cup
  21. rule — a law
  22. board — a committee
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — the fruit

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