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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. press — newspapers
  3. net — in sport
  4. clip — a video
  5. wind — moving air
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. net — after costs
  8. press — a publisher
  9. last — to go on
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cue — for pool
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. last — finally
  15. last — final
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cue — a hint
  18. cue — a signal
  19. press — to push
  20. chip — to eat
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — to cut
  23. net — for catching
  24. chip — for betting

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