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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: chip · stick · rash · row · press · clip · lean · cold

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. clip — for paper
  5. cold — an illness
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. cold — not warm
  8. row — a line
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. lean — to bend
  11. chip — to eat
  12. rash — hasty
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. clip — a video
  15. press — newspapers
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. row — to paddle
  19. rash — a series
  20. chip — for betting
  21. clip — to cut
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. lean — thin
  24. press — a publisher

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