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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 116 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: stand · cold · ruler · club · clip · pit · press · wound

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. stand — to bear
  6. club — a group
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pit — in a race
  9. clip — to cut
  10. club — for dancing
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. cold — not warm
  14. press — newspapers
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. clip — for paper
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. press — a publisher
  20. cold — an illness
  21. club — for golf
  22. pit — a hole
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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