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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. clip — a video
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. degree — from a university
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cue — a hint
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. clip — for paper
  12. saw — the tool
  13. press — newspapers
  14. bat — the animal
  15. clip — to cut
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. cue — a signal
  22. press — a publisher
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. jam — in traffic

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