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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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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: fork · wind · mine · sharp · rule · press · pitch · clip

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. sharp — clever
  8. rule — a law
  9. press — to push
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. clip — for paper
  12. rule — government
  13. fork — in a road
  14. pitch — completely
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. press — a publisher
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. clip — to cut
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mine — for digging
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. wind — moving air
  23. press — newspapers
  24. sharp — with an edge

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