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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. press — a publisher
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. press — newspapers
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. press — to push
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. clip — to cut
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. bark — to shout
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — a supporter

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