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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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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 · tear · mark · chair · wave · bowl · clip · jam

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. clip — a video
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. chair — a leader
  6. clip — to cut
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. clip — for paper
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mark — a trace
  13. press — newspapers
  14. press — a publisher
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. tear — to rip
  20. mark — a grade
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. tear — from crying
  23. jam — in traffic
  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