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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. land — to come down
  4. press — newspapers
  5. clip — to cut
  6. present — there
  7. scale — size or range
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cue — for pool
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — in music
  13. clip — for paper
  14. press — a publisher
  15. press — to push
  16. clip — a video
  17. degree — an amount
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. land — a country
  20. present — the time now
  21. degree — temperature
  22. land — ground
  23. present — a gift
  24. degree — from a university

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