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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: chest · ruler · leaves · press · clip · charge · lie · bat

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. chest — of your body
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. clip — to cut
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. charge — electricity
  16. charge — a price
  17. press — to push
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. chest — a box
  21. charge — in control
  22. press — newspapers
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — to recline

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