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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — for paper
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a ring
  5. last — to go on
  6. can — a tin
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — the earth
  9. press — newspapers
  10. last — final
  11. cold — an illness
  12. can — to be able to
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. can — a tin
  15. last — finally
  16. press — to push
  17. squash — the sport
  18. band — a music group
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. squash — to crush
  21. ground — crushed
  22. cold — not warm
  23. clip — to cut
  24. press — a publisher

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