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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: foot · chip · hand · fall · press · clip · charge · present

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. fall — to drop
  3. charge — in control
  4. chip — for betting
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. hand — in cards
  7. press — a publisher
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. present — there
  11. clip — a video
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. foot — a measure
  15. present — a gift
  16. chip — to eat
  17. press — to push
  18. charge — electricity
  19. present — the time now
  20. clip — to cut
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. press — newspapers
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. clip — for paper

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