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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. clip — for paper
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. bore — to drill
  6. press — to push
  7. degree — temperature
  8. press — a publisher
  9. craft — boats
  10. press — newspapers
  11. firm — decided
  12. firm — a company
  13. firm — steady
  14. row — to paddle
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — a line
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bore — to tire
  23. clip — a video
  24. craft — a skill

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