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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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Word bank
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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. track — a path
  3. chair — a leader
  4. track — a song
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. plane — a tool
  7. degree — temperature
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pitch — completely
  11. track — to keep track
  12. degree — from a university
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. press — newspapers
  18. clip — a video
  19. degree — an amount
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. press — a publisher

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