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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. tear — from crying
  4. clip — a video
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. degree — an amount
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. tear — from crying
  11. clip — for paper
  12. degree — temperature
  13. chip — to eat
  14. press — newspapers
  15. branch — a division
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. press — to push
  18. chip — for betting
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. clip — to cut
  22. tear — to rip
  23. degree — from a university
  24. branch — of a bank

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