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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: last · mug · cabinet · press · prune · clip · file · rush

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. prune — to trim
  4. clip — for paper
  5. file — a tool
  6. rush — hurry
  7. last — finally
  8. last — to go on
  9. press — newspapers
  10. mug — to rob
  11. file — a document
  12. press — a publisher
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. mug — a face
  15. prune — to trim
  16. file — a line of people
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mug — a cup
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. clip — a video
  21. press — to push
  22. last — final
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. cabinet — ministers

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