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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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Word bank
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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. clip — to cut
  3. press — a publisher
  4. pit — in a race
  5. file — a tool
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. file — a document
  8. scale — size or range
  9. mug — a cup
  10. press — newspapers
  11. file — a line of people
  12. sharp — clever
  13. scale — in music
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pit — a hole
  16. clip — for paper
  17. mug — to rob
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. land — ground
  21. mug — a face
  22. clip — a video
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

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