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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. clip — a video
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. degree — from a university
  8. sharp — clever
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. fine — high quality
  13. press — a publisher
  14. foot — a measure
  15. press — newspapers
  16. press — to push
  17. net — in sport
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. degree — temperature
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — after costs
  23. fine — all right
  24. clip — to cut

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