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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. press — newspapers
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. bat — the animal
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. press — a publisher
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. capital — a city
  10. pass — a permit
  11. wax — to grow
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. mug — a cup
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. mug — to rob
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. clip — to cut
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. clip — for paper
  22. capital — money
  23. press — to push
  24. mug — a face

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