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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. clip — for paper
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. clip — a video
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. content — the amount
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — to push
  11. present — there
  12. cold — an illness
  13. content — happy
  14. last — final
  15. rash — hasty
  16. clip — to cut
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. press — a publisher
  19. last — finally
  20. present — the time now
  21. last — to go on
  22. rash — a series
  23. present — a gift
  24. cold — not warm

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