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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: content · press · clip · chair · ground · deal

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. clip — for paper
  3. ground — the earth
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — to push
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. content — happy
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. ground — crushed
  13. content — the amount
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. press — newspapers
  18. ground — a position

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