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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. press — a publisher
  3. capital — money
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a document
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — letters
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. press — to push
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. file — a tool
  19. press — newspapers
  20. capital — a city
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. spell — magic
  24. snap — to click

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