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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  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. press — to push
  2. last — to go on
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. clip — a video
  5. press — newspapers
  6. rule — a law
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — to grow
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rule — government
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — a group
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. last — final
  17. fork — in a road
  18. clip — for paper
  19. club — for dancing
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. last — finally
  23. fork — a garden tool
  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