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

Word bank: clip · press · face · rule · race · bear

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. rule — government
  3. clip — a video
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to confront
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. press — to push
  10. press — newspapers
  11. race — the arms race
  12. face — to point toward
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — a contest
  15. clip — to cut
  16. rule — a law
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — the animal

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