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

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. game — wild animals
  3. clip — for paper
  4. degree — from a university
  5. game — a match
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. press — to push
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. shower — rain
  10. present — a gift
  11. clip — a video
  12. press — newspapers
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. press — a publisher
  15. degree — an amount
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. shower — to wash
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bulb — for light
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. present — the time now
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. present — there

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