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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 120 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: chip · last · cell · cabinet · press · row · clip · season

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — newspapers
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. chip — for betting
  6. season — of the year
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. clip — a video
  10. press — to push
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. row — a line
  13. clip — for paper
  14. last — finally
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. cell — a phone
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. clip — to cut
  20. season — in sport
  21. chip — to eat
  22. row — to paddle
  23. last — final
  24. last — to go on

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