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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 116 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. cold — an illness
  3. press — a publisher
  4. staff — employees
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. clip — to cut
  7. drill — a practice
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. chip — to eat
  12. drill — the tool
  13. staff — employees
  14. press — to push
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. cold — not warm
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. clip — for paper
  20. staff — a stick
  21. chip — for betting
  22. drill — army training
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. press — newspapers

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