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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. press — newspapers
  3. clip — a video
  4. court — for sport
  5. degree — from a university
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. clip — to cut
  8. press — to push
  9. press — a publisher
  10. spell — a short time
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. clip — for paper
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. spell — magic
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — in music
  19. court — of a king
  20. spell — letters
  21. court — of law
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. kick — in football
  24. degree — temperature

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