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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 120 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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. degree — from a university
  3. lean — to bend
  4. press — to push
  5. degree — temperature
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. clip — a video
  8. file — a line of people
  9. clip — for paper
  10. swing — music
  11. file — a document
  12. scale — in music
  13. ball — a great time
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. clip — to cut
  16. swing — to play on
  17. ball — a dance
  18. file — a tool
  19. degree — an amount
  20. press — newspapers
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. scale — size or range
  23. lean — thin
  24. press — a publisher

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