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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. saw — the tool
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. kid — to tease
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. swing — to play on
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. rule — government
  9. kid — child
  10. clip — to cut
  11. swing — music
  12. swing — in golf
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rule — a law
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. saw — the tool
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. fine — all right
  21. fine — high quality
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — newspapers
  24. clip — a video

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