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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: press · arm · race · hide · charge · cell · clip · net

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. charge — a price
  4. net — for catching
  5. charge — electricity
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — in biology
  8. net — in sport
  9. race — humankind
  10. press — to push
  11. press — a publisher
  12. net — after costs
  13. race — the arms race
  14. charge — in control
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. clip — to cut
  18. race — a contest
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. press — newspapers
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — a video
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. cell — a phone

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