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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — to tease
  5. band — a music group
  6. present — a gift
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. clip — a video
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. press — a publisher
  11. band — a ring
  12. can — to be able to
  13. mark — a grade
  14. present — the time now
  15. press — to push
  16. can — a tin
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. mark — a trace
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. can — a tin
  23. present — there
  24. press — newspapers

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