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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. press — a publisher
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. press — newspapers
  6. content — happy
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. cue — for pool
  10. cue — a signal
  11. content — the amount
  12. snap — to click
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. clip — for paper
  15. cold — an illness
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. cue — a hint
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cold — not warm
  23. clip — a video
  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