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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. pitch — completely
  3. press — to push
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. press — newspapers
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. clip — for paper
  8. firm — decided
  9. bat — the animal
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. firm — a company
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. press — a publisher
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. sharp — clever
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. cold — an illness
  23. firm — steady
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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