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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 120 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. charge — electricity
  4. charge — in control
  5. bass — the fish
  6. press — to push
  7. press — a publisher
  8. stand — to bear
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. charge — a price
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. cell — a phone
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. press — newspapers
  17. kid — to tease
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bass — low music
  23. dip — to sink
  24. cell — in biology

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