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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. last — to go on
  4. squash — the sport
  5. chip — for betting
  6. kick — in football
  7. file — a tool
  8. clip — for paper
  9. press — to push
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. last — final
  12. clip — a video
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a ring
  15. press — newspapers
  16. press — a publisher
  17. last — finally
  18. file — a line of people
  19. squash — to crush
  20. clip — to cut
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. chip — to eat

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