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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.

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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. rock — music
  3. chest — a box
  4. clip — a video
  5. fall — to drop
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. mark — a trace
  8. kid — child
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. fall — the season
  11. chest — of your body
  12. kid — to tease
  13. press — a publisher
  14. rock — a stone
  15. mark — a grade
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. press — newspapers
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. fall — to drop
  21. clip — to cut
  22. chest — of your body
  23. press — to push
  24. sharp — clever

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