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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 116 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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. clip — a video
  3. stem — to come from
  4. press — a publisher
  5. kid — to tease
  6. press — newspapers
  7. kid — child
  8. fall — the season
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. fall — to drop
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. tube — a container
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. fall — to drop
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. content — happy
  22. press — to push
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. content — the amount

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