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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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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. press — a publisher
  3. degree — from a university
  4. face — to confront
  5. drill — a practice
  6. clip — for paper
  7. degree — an amount
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. face — to point toward
  10. press — to push
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. drill — the tool
  13. bear — the animal
  14. clip — to cut
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. drill — army training
  17. bear — the animal
  18. stem — to come from
  19. face — part of the head
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. clip — a video
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. press — newspapers

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