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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. clip — a video
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — temperature
  9. track — to keep track
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bark — to shout
  13. foot — a measure
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. track — a song
  17. clip — for paper
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. clip — to cut
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. track — a path
  22. degree — an amount
  23. press — to push
  24. press — newspapers

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