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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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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: pit · clip · chest · charge · press · object

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. clip — a video
  3. object — an aim
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. clip — to cut
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — in a race
  9. chest — of your body
  10. charge — in control
  11. chest — a box
  12. press — newspapers
  13. charge — electricity
  14. press — a publisher
  15. press — to push
  16. clip — for paper
  17. object — a thing
  18. charge — a price

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