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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. stand — to bear
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. toast — bread
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. press — newspapers
  7. cell — a phone
  8. clip — a video
  9. cell — in biology
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cap — of ice
  12. press — to push
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. wind — moving air
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. clip — for paper
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. clip — to cut
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. vault — a safe
  24. cap — a lid

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