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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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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 · capital · content · chip · clip · lash · stick · cell

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. cell — a phone
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. cell — in biology
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. clip — for paper
  9. chip — for betting
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. chip — to eat
  13. press — newspapers
  14. press — a publisher
  15. content — happy
  16. capital — a city
  17. press — to push
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. clip — to cut
  21. capital — money
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. clip — a video

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