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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 120 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: kick · charge · club · lean · tear · clip · press · squash

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. club — a group
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. tear — to rip
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. clip — to cut
  8. lean — to bend
  9. charge — a price
  10. club — for golf
  11. tear — from crying
  12. press — newspapers
  13. lean — thin
  14. squash — to crush
  15. press — a publisher
  16. clip — for paper
  17. squash — the sport
  18. charge — electricity
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. club — for dancing
  22. clip — a video
  23. tear — from crying
  24. press — to push

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