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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. hand — in cards
  3. chest — of your body
  4. clip — a video
  5. cap — a hat
  6. craft — a skill
  7. clip — for paper
  8. craft — boats
  9. charge — electricity
  10. press — a publisher
  11. press — newspapers
  12. chest — of your body
  13. drill — a practice
  14. hand — help
  15. cap — of ice
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. charge — a price
  19. drill — the tool
  20. press — to push
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cap — a lid
  23. charge — in control
  24. chest — a box

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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