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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. clip — to cut
  3. press — a publisher
  4. degree — an amount
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. staff — a stick
  7. bear — the animal
  8. prune — to trim
  9. staff — employees
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. press — to push
  14. press — newspapers
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. degree — temperature
  18. capital — a city
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. prune — to trim
  21. degree — from a university
  22. capital — money
  23. bear — the animal
  24. temple — side of the head

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