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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. rule — government
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rule — a law
  8. press — to push
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. press — newspapers
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. snap — to click
  14. cap — a lid
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. capital — money
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. clip — to cut
  20. band — a music group
  21. cap — of ice
  22. press — a publisher
  23. cap — a hat
  24. bowl — to roll

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