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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. season — of the year
  6. press — a publisher
  7. degree — temperature
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. clip — for paper
  18. press — to push
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. clip — a video

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