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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. press — a publisher
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. press — to push
  6. game — a match
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. stand — to bear
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. branch — a division
  12. clip — to cut
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. clip — for paper
  15. roll — a cake
  16. rush — hurry
  17. roll — a list
  18. kid — child
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. kid — to tease
  21. press — newspapers
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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