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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 · lean · cold · racket · cell

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. press — newspapers
  3. clip — to cut
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. cold — not warm
  9. press — a publisher
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — in biology
  14. lean — to bend
  15. clip — a video
  16. lean — thin
  17. press — to push
  18. racket — a loud noise

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