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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: tube · clip · wind · shower · press · charge · cell · dip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in biology
  5. clip — a video
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. press — to push
  8. charge — electricity
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. charge — in control
  11. wind — moving air
  12. shower — rain
  13. press — a publisher
  14. press — newspapers
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. tube — a container
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. dip — to sink
  19. clip — to cut
  20. wind — moving air
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. shower — to wash
  23. tube — the underground
  24. charge — a price

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