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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · fan · charge · pit · arm · clip · cell · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pit — in a race
  3. charge — electricity
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. pit — a hole
  6. shower — rain
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. press — newspapers
  9. clip — for paper
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. charge — a price
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. press — to push
  21. press — a publisher
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in biology
  24. charge — in control

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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