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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. capital — a city
  3. rule — government
  4. chip — for betting
  5. chip — to eat
  6. clip — to cut
  7. lie — to recline
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. rule — a law
  10. mark — a trace
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — to push
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. press — newspapers
  20. mark — a grade
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. capital — money
  23. clip — for paper
  24. capital — a big letter

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