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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. degree — temperature
  3. press — newspapers
  4. bound — tied together
  5. press — a publisher
  6. degree — from a university
  7. clip — to cut
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — the season
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. degree — an amount
  12. pitch — completely
  13. stock — goods
  14. bound — obliged
  15. press — to push
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. spring — a coil
  20. stock — shares
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bound — certain

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