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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. chip — for betting
  3. bank — of a river
  4. press — to push
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. rule — a law
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — clever
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bank — for money
  12. press — a publisher
  13. clip — to cut
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. chip — to eat
  16. clip — a video
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. rule — government
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bank — for money

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