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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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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: band · fall · rest · cap · clip · press · hide · pitch

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. cap — a lid
  3. clip — for paper
  4. band — a music group
  5. cap — of ice
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. pitch — completely
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — what's left
  11. fall — to drop
  12. press — a publisher
  13. rest — a break
  14. clip — a video
  15. press — newspapers
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cap — a hat
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. band — a ring

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