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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 · press · content · shower · charge · clip · hide · cold

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — in a race
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — rain
  8. clip — a video
  9. content — the amount
  10. charge — in control
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. cold — not warm
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. cold — an illness
  16. clip — to cut
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. charge — electricity
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. charge — a price
  21. press — to push
  22. shower — to wash
  23. press — newspapers
  24. content — happy

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