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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. clip — to cut
  3. chip — to eat
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. season — in sport
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. press — a publisher
  10. season — of the year
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. cell — in biology
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. clip — for paper
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cell — a phone
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. press — newspapers
  20. stem — to come from
  21. saw — the tool
  22. clip — a video
  23. chip — for betting
  24. press — to push

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