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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. rock — music
  3. clip — to cut
  4. suit — in cards
  5. cell — in biology
  6. press — a publisher
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cell — a phone
  9. dip — to sink
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. chest — of your body
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. press — to push
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. suit — clothes
  18. suit — to fit
  19. clip — for paper
  20. chest — of your body
  21. press — newspapers
  22. chest — a box
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. rock — a stone

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