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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.

Make a worksheet

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: press · clip · club · chair · hide · leaves

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. clip — to cut
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. press — to push
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. club — for dancing
  7. clip — for paper
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. press — a publisher
  10. clip — a video
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. club — for golf
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. club — a group
  17. chair — a leader
  18. press — newspapers

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