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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. press — a publisher
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — clever
  5. perch — the fish
  6. degree — from a university
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. degree — temperature
  9. press — to push
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. cell — a phone
  13. ball — a dance
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — in biology
  16. chip — to eat
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. tear — to rip
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. degree — an amount
  21. chip — for betting
  22. ball — a great time
  23. tear — from crying
  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