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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. saw — the tool
  3. clip — a video
  4. press — to push
  5. file — a document
  6. cue — a signal
  7. object — an aim
  8. object — to protest
  9. cue — a hint
  10. object — a thing
  11. file — a line of people
  12. rest — what's left
  13. clip — to cut
  14. ball — a dance
  15. cue — for pool
  16. file — a tool
  17. rest — a break
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. rest — what's left
  20. clip — for paper
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. ball — a great time
  23. saw — the tool
  24. press — newspapers

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