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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 120 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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. staff — a stick
  3. drill — a practice
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. press — to push
  6. fine — all right
  7. mug — to rob
  8. fine — high quality
  9. mug — a cup
  10. press — a publisher
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. clip — to cut
  13. mine — for digging
  14. press — newspapers
  15. staff — employees
  16. bore — to tire
  17. drill — the tool
  18. clip — for paper
  19. staff — employees
  20. mug — a face
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bore — to drill
  24. drill — army training

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