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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. stand — to bear
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. press — newspapers
  8. sharp — clever
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. content — happy
  11. press — a publisher
  12. content — the amount
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. press — to push
  15. cold — an illness
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bass — low music
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bass — the fish
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cold — not warm
  24. nail — on a finger

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