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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: cue · capital · dip · ruler · pound · press · clip · mine

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cue — a signal
  5. dip — to sink
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. clip — a video
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. press — to push
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. press — a publisher
  13. clip — for paper
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. press — newspapers
  16. capital — money
  17. cue — for pool
  18. capital — a city
  19. cue — a hint
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. clip — to cut
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. pound — a weight

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