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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — a break
  3. lean — to bend
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. press — a publisher
  8. bass — the fish
  9. charge — electricity
  10. cap — a lid
  11. mine — for digging
  12. cap — a hat
  13. lean — thin
  14. charge — a price
  15. rest — what's left
  16. cap — of ice
  17. clip — a video
  18. charge — in control
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — to push
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. clip — for paper
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. bass — low music

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