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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  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. clip — for paper
  2. press — a publisher
  3. rash — hasty
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. clip — to cut
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — of the year
  8. rash — a series
  9. degree — from a university
  10. content — happy
  11. dip — to sink
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. degree — an amount
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. clip — a video
  19. degree — temperature
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. press — to push
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. content — the amount
  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