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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: kick · march · charge · staff · press · net · clip · prune

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. march — the month
  3. net — for catching
  4. staff — employees
  5. kick — in football
  6. clip — a video
  7. prune — to trim
  8. staff — employees
  9. clip — for paper
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. press — a publisher
  12. press — newspapers
  13. charge — electricity
  14. net — after costs
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. staff — a stick
  18. prune — to trim
  19. clip — to cut
  20. charge — a price
  21. march — the month
  22. net — in sport
  23. march — music
  24. charge — in control

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